Zemlya Georga, or Prince George Land (; ''Zemlya Georga'', "George Land"), is the largest island in

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

Russian Arctic The Extreme North or the Far North 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 , comprising about one-third of Russia's total area. Formall ...

. Zemlya Georga was named by

Frederick George Jackson Frederick George Jackson (6 March 1860 – 13 March 1938) was an English Arctic explorer remembered for his expedition to Franz Josef Land, when he located the missing Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. Biography Early life Jackson wa ...

after Prince George.

Geography

With a total surface of , slightly larger than

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, Zemlya Georga is the largest island of the Franz Josef Archipelago. It is also the longest, with a distance of between its northernmost and its southernmost ends. The highest point of the island is the summit of Brusilov Ice Dome, the northeastern ice dome, at . The island has a complex coastline, with many bays, deep inlets and capes. Zemlya Georga has three capes pointing southwestwards on its southern coast: ''Cape Neale'' (the westernmost end of the island), ''Cape Crowther'' and ''Cape Grant''. Its easternmost cape is known as ''Mys Murray''. The two capes pointing north, ''Mys Bryusa'' and ''Mys Battenberg'', are separated from each other by ''Sommerville Bay''. The westernmost cape of this peninsula is ''Mys Mul'tanovskogo'', beyond which lies the sound known as ''Proliv Arkhangelskiy'' between Zemlya Georga and

Alexandra Land Alexandra Land () is a large island located in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Not counting detached and far-lying Victoria Island (Russian Arctic), Victoria Island, it is the westernmost island of Franz Josef Land. It is the site ...

. The sound known as ''Cambridge Channel'' (Proliv Kambritch) is located further to the southwest. There are no permanent inhabitants on the island however there is a seasonal research station which can shelter up to 10 persons. The ''Nightingale Channel'' (Proliv Neytingeyl) runs east of Zemlya Georga, separating it from Bruce Island.

Glaciers

Most of the land lies under large

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

s and

ice dome Glacier morphology, or the form a glacier takes, is influenced by temperature, precipitation, topography, and other factors. The goal of glacial morphology is to gain a better understanding of glaciated landscapes and the way they are shaped. T ...

s, such as the Brusilov Ice Dome, Gretton Ice Dome, Dzegudze Ice Dome (Купол Дзегудзе), Zander Ice Dome, Foggy Ice Dome (Купол туманный), Arctic Geology Research Institute Ice Dome (Купол Научно-исследовательский институт геологии Арктики) and the Peary Ice Dome, although there is a large, mostly

unglacierized A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires d ...

peninsula at its northern end, ''Poluostrov Armitidzh''.

Adjacent Islands

* ''David Island'' (Ostrovok Davida), lat 80.15 N long 47.33 E, is a small islet located off Zemlya Georga's southwestern point. *

Arthur Island Arthur Island (; ''Ostrov Artura'') is an island in Franz Josef Land, Russia. It belongs administratively to the Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation. Geography Arthur Island lies in the Queen Victoria Sea north of Zemlya Georga, relati ...

lies north of Zemlya Georga's northernmost end, separated from it by the sound known as Proliv Li-Smita.

History

British explorer

Benjamin Leigh Smith Benjamin Leigh Smith (12 March 1828 – 4 January 1913) was an English Arctic explorer and yachtsman. He was the grandson of the abolitionist William Smith. Early life He was born in Whatlington, Sussex, the extramarital child of Ann ...

, discovered Zemlya Georga in 1880. The

Jackson–Harmsworth expedition The Jackson–Harmsworth expedition of 1894–1897 to Franz Josef Land was led by British Arctic explorer Frederick George Jackson and financed by newspaper proprietor Alfred Harmsworth. Jackson had been misled by speculative maps into believin ...

established in 1897 that the land discovered by Leigh Smith is composed of two separate islands, the other being today's

. pp. 20f.

Image gallery

References

External links

*
Global Land Ice Measurements from Space Glacier DatabasePolar Soviet aviation: Chronology
{{Franz Josef Land Islands of Franz Josef Land Islands of Arkhangelsk Oblast