October Revolution Island (Russian: Остров Октябрьской Революции, ''Ostrov Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii'') is the largest island of the

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 ...

group in the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. It is named after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

which led to the former

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

becoming a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

country. The area of this island has been estimated at making it the 59th largest island in the world.McCoy, John F. (ed.) (2002) ''Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia'' Thomson-Gale
/ref> It rises to a height of on Mount Karpinsky. Half the island is covered with

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 a ...

s reaching down into the sea. In the sections free from ice, the vegetation is

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

Geography

October Revolution Island houses five domed

ice cap In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets. Description Ice caps are not constrained by topographical feat ...

s; clockwise from north, they are named: Rusanov, Karpinsky,

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Vavilov Vavilov (russian: Вави́лов) is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrey Petrovich Vavilov (b. 1961), Russian politician and businessman * Nikolai Vavilov (1887–1943), Russian geneticist * Sergey Ivanovich Vavi ...

and Albanov. The Rusanov and Karpinsky ice caps, located on the eastern side of the island, feed with glaciers the Matusevich Fjord of the

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...

and the

Marat Fjord Marat Fjord (russian: Фьорд Марата, ''Fiord Marata''), is a fjord in Severnaya Zemlya, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.GoogleEarth It is blocked by ice most of the year. History Although the shore of the island further north had been visited ...

of the Shokalsky Strait.Mark Nuttall, ''Encyclopedia of the Arctic'', p. 1887 The Karpinsky ice cap reaches a maximum height of 963 m and it is also the highest point in Severnaya Zemlya.Обзорно-географический Атлас России. — Картография, АСТ, Астрель, 2010. — С. 147. In 2015 the Vavilov Glacier accelerated dramatically due to warming. Between 2015 and 2016 the glacier front advanced 4 km and the glacier lost 4.5 km³ of ice. Other minor ice caps on the island include the Malyutka Glacier. The Podemnaya River and the Bolshaya River drain to the northwest between the Vavilov and Albanov glaciers, and the Bedovaya and Obryvistaya Rivers drain to the north between the Albanov and Rusanov ice caps. The coast of the island is uneven with rugged coves and headlands. The largest bays of the island are along the northern coast. The

Red Army Strait Red Army Strait (russian: Пролив Красной Армии, ''Proliv Krasnoy Army'') is a strait in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia. It is named after the Red Army (Krasnaya Armiya). Geography The Red Army Strait is wide. It separates Komsomolets ...

separates October Revolution Island from Komsomolets Island to the north and from Pioneer Island in the northwest, while the broader Shokalsky Strait separates it from Bolshevik Island to the south. Both straits connect the Kara Sea in the west with the Laptev Sea in the east. Cape October is located in the northern part of the island facing the Red Army Strait.

History

The island was discovered by Boris Vilkitsky in 1913 during an expedition on behalf of the

Russian Hydrographic Service The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ( rus, Управление навигации и океанографии Министер ...

, but its insularity was not 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 charted the archipelago during their 1930–1932 expedition. The

Meteorological Station was operated from 1974 to 1988 on the northern part of the Vavilov Ice Cap.Bassford, R.P. ''et al.'' (2006) "Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap" ''Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research'' 38(1): pp. 1–12
link to abstract only

References

External links

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

Geography

History

See also

References

External links