In the 1930s, the coastal settlement of Ambarchik, located at the delta of the Kolyma River, was used as a transient labor camp from which prisoners were transported to other northern camps of the Gulag system. While stationed at Ambarchik, prisoners were employed to build most of the port infrastructure and to unload the incoming ships. Later, due to shallow waters, the shipping was gradually transferred to Chersky in the lower reaches of the Kolyma, in order to accommodate larger vessels. As a result of this transfer, the port and settlement have been abandoned. Nowadays, Ambarchik only hosts a meteorological station operated by a few staff members.