Nansen Island (russian: о́стров На́нсена; ''Ostrov Nansena'') is an island in

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

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-eigh ...

. The island is partly glaciated and its area is . The highest point of the island is . Nansen Island is named in the honor and memory of Arctic explorer

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

, who explored and charted the Franz Josef Archipelago in 1896.

Geography

The island is located in the center of a cluster of islands of similar size separated from each other by narrow sounds. The channel to the southwest of the subgroup is Proliv Allen-Yung (), the one at the southeast is Proliv Sidorova (), the channel to the northeast is the Markham Sound (), and the one in the west is the Proliv Britansky Kanal (). Mys Artura is the cape in the north of the island. The cape in the southwest is known as Mys Ushakova, after Russian Arctic explorer

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 the southernmost point is called Mys Teylora (Cape Taylor).

Adjacent islands

Wilton Island

''Ostrov Uiltona'' (Остров Уилтона), Wilton Island is a small island off Nansen Island's northeastern coast. It is separated from it by a narrow sound. It was named after

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

explorer David W. Wilton of the 1894-1897 Jackson-Harmsworth expedition. Wilton had lived for some years in the north of Russia before joining the expedition.

Bromwich Island

''Ostrov Bromidzh'' (Остров Бромидж), Bromwich Island lies east of Nansen Island; (lat 80.49 long 54.9). It is covered by an ice-cap, but it has a few unglacierized areas at small points near its shores. Maximum height .

Brice Island

''Ostrov Braysa (Остров Брайса), Brice Island lies south of Bromwich Island. There is an icecap in the middle of the island but large swathes of land are unglacierized in the north and southwest. It has a maximum height of . This island was named after U.S. senator Calvin S. Brice who had donated $ 200 to the Wellman expedition. p. 630

Pritchett Island

''Ostrov Pritchetta'' (Остров Притчетта), Pritchett Island lies off Nansen Island's southern shore. This island is quite large and has a few areas free of glaciers. Highest point . The name of this island most likely honours

Henry Smith Pritchett Henry Smith Pritchett (April 16, 1857 – August 28, 1939) was an American astronomer and educator. Biography Pritchett was born on April 16, 1857 in Fayette, Missouri, the son of Carr Waller Pritchett, Sr., and attended Pritchett College ...

, who was involved in the scientific advisory committee for Wellman's expedition.

Bliss Island

''Ostrov Blissa'' (Остров Блисса), Bliss Island lies south of Pritchett Island. It is partly

unglacierized 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 ...

. Wellman named this island after

U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

Cornelius Newton Bliss Cornelius Newton Bliss (January 26, 1833 – October 9, 1911) was an American merchant, politician and art collector, who served as Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President William McKinley and as Treasurer of the Republican N ...

who donated 250 $ to the expedition.

Jefferson Island

''Ostrov Dzheffersona'' (Остров Джефферсона), Jefferson Island is a much smaller island lying off Nansen Island's southwestern shore. The island first appears as ''Jeaffreson Island'' on the maps of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition. Contemporary Arctic explorer J. Russel-Jeaffreson, who helped with the preparation for the expedition, p. 146 may be the source for the name.

Koetlitz Island

''Ostrov Ketlitsa'' (Остров Кётлица), Koetlitz Island is a long island which lies off the northwestern tip of Nansen island. Glacierized, maximum height . The cape at its northern end is known as Mys Polyarnogo Siyaniya and its southernmost came is Mys Giuys. The channel separating this island from Nansen island is known as Proliv Roberta Piliya. Koetlitz Island was named in honor of the geologist of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition, Dr.

Reginald Koettlitz Reginald Koettlitz (1860–1916) was a British physician and polar explorer. He participated in the Jackson–Harmsworth expedition to Franz Josef Land and in the Discovery Expedition to Antarctica. Early life Reginald Koettlitz was born on 23 ...

References

External links

Recent expeditions
{{Franz Josef Land Islands of Franz Josef Land Uninhabited islands of Russia Fridtjof Nansen