area 37 000 km²/14 300 sq mi. Uninhabited archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, N of the Taymyr Peninsula, Russia; separates the Laptev Sea (E) from the Kara Sea (W); glaciers on the larger islands.
Severnaya Zemlya (Russian: Се́верная Земля́, Northern Land) is an archipelago located in the Russian high Arctic at around 80°00′N 100°00′E.
History
Although located not far off the northern coast of Russia, Severnaya Zemlya was not formally recorded until the 20th century, although earlier explorers gave reports of a land mass in the general area, most notably a report by Matvey Hedenstrom and Yakov Sannikov in 1810 from their explorations out of Novaya Sibir.
Nested among the ice-locked waters of the Arctic Ocean, Severnaya Zemlya was not recorded until the 1913-1915 expedition of the icebreaker ships Taimyr and Vaigach on a hydrographic expedition led by Boris Vilkitsky to exploring the Northern Sea Route. On August 22, 1913 (September 3, 1913 in the Gregorian calendar), the expedition raised the Russian flag on what they believed to be a single island and named it "Nicholas II Land," after the Emperor of Russia.
The 1931 polar flight of the Graf Zeppelin determined that there were at least two islands.
Geography
Severnaya Zemlya is located in the Arctic Ocean across the Vilkitsky Strait from the mainland Taymyr Peninsula, between the Kara Sea to the west and the Laptev Sea to the east. It is comprised of four major islands — October Revolution, Bolshevik, Komsomolets, and Pioneer — and around 70 smaller islands, covering a total area of about 37,000 km².
October Revolution
October Revolution Island (Russian: Остров Октябрьской Революции, Ostrov Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii) is the largest island of the Severnaya Zemlya group. The area of this island has been estimated at 14,170 km² and it rises to a height of 965 m on Mount Karpinski. Half the island is covered with glaciers reaching down into the sea. The island was first explored and named by the expedition of G.
October Revolution Island houses five domed ice caps; Other minor ice caps on the island include the Mal'yutka Glacier.
Bolshevik
Bolshevik Island (Russian: о́стров Большеви́к IPA [ostrəv bəlʲʂɨˈvʲik]) is the southernmost and second largest island in the group, located across the Shokalsky Strait from October Revolution Island. The island is mountainous reaching a height of 935 m, and it houses an arctic base named Prima. About 30% of the island is covered by glaciers, while the coastal plains have a sparse vegetation of moss and lichen.
Bolshevik Island houses at least three glacier systems: Leningrad and Semenov-Tyan Shansky glaciers, as well as a smaller glacier, Kropotkin.
Komsomolets
Komsomolets Island (Russian: остров Комсомолец) is the northernmost island group in the Russian Arctic, and the third largest island in the group. The northernmost point of the island is called the Arctic Cape. The area of this island has been estimated at 9,006 km² and it rises to a height of 780 m. The island was first explored and named by the expedition of Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev in 1930 - 32. In keeping with their scheme of naming the islands after events and movements of the Russian Revolution, this island was named in honour of the members of the Komsomol, the "Communist Union of Youth".
Komsomolets island is largely covered by the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap — an 819 m thick ice dome reaching 749 m above sea level and covers covers 5,575 km² of the island.
Pioneer Island
Pioneer Island, measuring 1,527 km² in area, houses Pioneer Glacier.
Schmidt Island
Shmidt Island, measuring 467 km², at the far northwestern end of the archipelago, is almost entirely covered by the Schmidt Ice Cap.
Minor Islands
Maly Taymyr Island (232 km²) is located at the far southeastern end of the archipelago. Sedov Archipelago, located just east of October Revolution Island. Bolshoy Island, located just south of October Revolution Island. Vostothny Island, located south of Bolshevik Island.Flora and fauna
See also: List of species on Severnaya ZemlyaSevernaya Zemlya is a polar desert with sparse vegetation and pemafrost at less than 50 cm.
According to a survey of prior observations by De Korte, Volkov, and Gavrilo, thirty-two bird species have been observed on Severnaya Zemlya, 17 of which are known to breed on the islands.
The most common mammal on Severnaya Zemlya is the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus), which is present on all of the large islands and, in some places has been recorded to reach a density of 500 per km2. The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) has been known to den on the islands, with several hundred observed in the 1980s.
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