__NOTOC__ Bolshevik Island (russian: о́стров Большеви́к, ) is an island in

Severnaya Zemlya Severnaya Zemlya (russian: link=no, Сéверная Земля́ (Northern Land), ) is a archipelago in the Russian high Arctic. It lies off Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago ...

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...

Russian Arctic The Extreme North or Far North (russian: Крайний Север, Дальний Север) is a large part of Russia located mainly north of the Arctic Circle and boasting enormous mineral and natural resources. Its total area is about , ...

. The island is named after the political faction of the same name.

History

The island, together with the eastern coast of what was named

Emperor Nicholas II Land Severnaya Zemlya (russian: link=no, Сéверная Земля́ (Northern Land), ) is a archipelago in the Russian high Arctic. It lies off Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago s ...

, was discovered by

Boris Vilkitsky Boris Andreyevich Vilkitsky (russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Вильки́цкий) (22 March (3 April N.S.) 1885, Pulkovo – 6 March 1961) was a Russian hydrographer and surveyor. He was the son of Andrey Ippolitovich Vilkitsky. ...

at the time of the 1913 Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition. Its insularity, however, wasn't proven until 1931, when

Georgy Ushakov Georgy Alexeyevich Ushakov (russian: Георгий Алексеевич Ушаков) (17 (30) January 1901 – 3 December 1963) was a Soviet explorer of the Arctic. Ushakov broke new ground when he surveyed and explored Severnaya Zemlya, togeth ...

and

Nikolay Urvantsev Nikolay Nikolayevich Urvantsev (russian: Николáй Николáевич Урвáнцев; – 20 February 1985) was a Soviet geologist and explorer. He was born in the town of Lukoyanov in the Lukoyanovsky Uyezd of the Nizhny Novgorod Gove ...

charted the archipelago during their 1930–32 expedition. Prima Polar Station, currently the only

Polar station A number of governments maintain permanent research stations in the Arctic. Also known as Arctic bases, polar stations or ice stations, these bases are widely distributed across the northern polar region of Earth. Historically few research sta ...

operating in Severnaya Zemlya, is located in this island near

Cape Baranov Cape Baranov (russian: Мыс Баранова; ''Mys Baranova'') is a headland in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia. History The Laptev Sea shore of present-day Severnaya Zemlya was discovered by Boris Vilkitsky in 1913 during the Arctic Ocean Hydrogr ...

.Bird Observations in Severnaya Zemlya, Siberia
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Geography

It is the southernmost

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

and the second largest island in the group. The area of this island has been estimated at . The island is mountainous reaching a height of 935 m. About 31% of Bolshevik Island, totaling over , is covered by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s, the largest are Leningrad Glacier, Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky Glacier, Kropotkin Glacier, Mushketov Glacier and Aerosyomki Glacier. Most of these ice formations do not reach the sea, ending in

moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

in valleys or

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

s having a sparse vegetation of moss and lichen. (translated as "North Land)
Oceandots.com
Accessed May 2011 Parts of the shore of the island are deeply indented, with Mikoyan Bay in the northopening to the

Shokalsky Strait Shokalsky Strait (russian: Пролив Шокальского) is a strait in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia. Geography The Shokalsky Strait is an up to a 50 km-wide strait that separates Bolshevik Island from October Revolution Island, connectin ...

, as well as

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

s such as

Akhmatov Fjord Akhmatov Fjord, also known as Akhmatov Bay (russian: Залив Ахматова, ''Zaliv Akhmatova''), is a fjord in Severnaya Zemlya, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.GoogleEarth This fjord is clogged by ice most of the year. History The fjord was named ...

, Thaelmann Fjord, Spartak Fjord and Partizan Fjord. Cape Unslicht ''(Mys Peschanyy)'' is the northernmost point of Bolshevik Island and Cape Neupokoyev at the SW end the southernmost. Ostrov Tash is a small island located on Bolshevik's southern shore. Lavrov Island and Blizky Island are located off the NE shore and Ostrov Lishniy off its northern tip. The group formed by the larger Maly Taymyr and Starokadomsky islands is located further offshore off the southeastern end.

Image gallery

File:Bolshevik island, Russia, Landsat 7 image.jpg, Bolshevik Island image ( Landsat-7 1999-07-29) File:Antsev Point 1 2014-08-29.jpg, Southern coast of
Bolshevik Island:
Antsev Point (78°11’N, 103°7’E) File:Solnechnaya-Bucht 1 2014-08-29.jpg, Southern coast of
Bolshevik Island:
Solnechny Bay (78°11’N, 103°7’E) File:Solnechnaya-Bucht 2 2014-08-29.jpg, Southern coast of
Bolshevik Island:
Solnechny Bay (78°11’N, 103°7’E) File:Solnechnaya-Bucht 3 2014-08-29.jpg, Southern coast of
Bolshevik Island:
Solnechny Bay (78°11’N, 103°7’E) File:Akhmatowa-Fjord 1 2014-08-30.jpg, Bolshevik Island:

(79°30‘N, 103°12‘E) File:Akhmatowa-Fjord 2 2014-08-30.jpg, Bolshevik Island:
Akhmatov Fjord (79°30‘N, 103°12‘E) File:Mikojana-Bucht 1 2014-08-30.jpg, Bolshevik Island:
Mikoyan Bay at one of the world's most spectacular iceberg roads File:Mikojana-Bucht 2 2014-08-30.jpg, Bolshevik Island:
Mikoyan Bay (79°22‘N, 102°E) File:Eisberg-Straße 1 2014-08-30.jpg, Northeast coast of Bolshevik Island:
iceberg road (79°28‘N, 103°E) File:Eisberg-Straße 2 2014-08-30.jpg, Northeast coast of Bolshevik Island:
iceberg road (79°28‘N, 103°E) File:Eisberg-Straße 3 2014-08-30.jpg File:Eisberg-Straße 4 2014-08-30.jpg File:Eisberg-Straße 5 2014-08-30.jpg File:Eisberg-Straße 6 2014-08-30.jpg

Weather conditions

The weather on the island is extremely cold; the annual average temperature is .

References

External links

* {{Authority control Islands of the Kara Sea Islands of the Laptev Sea Islands of Severnaya Zemlya