The Taymyr Peninsula ( ) is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in the Far North of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, in the

Siberian Federal District Siberian Federal District ( rus, Сибирский федеральный округ, p=sʲɪˈbʲirskʲɪj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its population was 17,178,298 according to the 20 ...

, that forms the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

ernmost part of the mainland of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

. Administratively it is part of the

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

Federal subject of Russia The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

Geography

The Taymyr Peninsula lies between the Yenisei Gulf of the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

and the

Khatanga Gulf The Khatanga Gulf or Khatanga Bay () is a large tidal estuary in the Laptev Sea. It is relatively narrow, its length being with a maximum width of . Geography The Bolshoy Begichev Island divides the gulf into two straits: Northern Strait ( wide) ...

of the Laptev Sea. Lake Taymyr and the Byrranga Mountains are located within the vast Taymyr Peninsula. Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent, is located at the northern end of the Taymyr Peninsula.

Etymology

There are several theories about the origin of the name "Taimyr." The most widely accepted explanation is that it comes from the

Evenki language Evenki ( ), formerly known as Tungus, is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes Even, Negidal, and the more closely related Oroqen language. The name is sometimes wrongly given as "Evenks". ...

, originating from the ancient Tungus word "tamura", which means "valuable, precious, rich." The Evenki people originally used this name for the Taimyr River, known for its abundance of fish. In the 19th century, thanks to the geographer and explorer

Alexander von Middendorff Alexander Theodor von Middendorff (; 18 August 1815 – 24 January 1894) was a Russian zoologist and explorer of Baltic German and Estonian extraction. He was known for his expedition in 1843–45 to the extreme north and east of Siberia, des ...

(1815–1894), the name came to refer to the entire

. Other interpretations exist as well. For example, in Yakut, "tuoy muora" translates to "salt lake," which can also be understood metaphorically as "fertile" or "blessed," since salt is vital for the health of

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

. Another Yakut version, "Tymyr," means "blood vessel." In the Nenets language, "tai myarey" means "bald" or "bare," possibly in reference to the region’s low-growing

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

. In the

Nganasan language The Nganasan language (formerly called , ''tavgiysky'', or , ''tavgiysko-samoyedsky'' in Russian; from the ethnonym , ''tavgi'') is a Endangered language, moribund Samoyedic languages, Samoyedic language spoken by about 30 of the Nganasan people. ...

, "taa mire" translates to "reindeer paths."

Population

The Nenets people, also known as ''Samoyeds'', are an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia, and some live at the Taymyr Peninsula. The

Nganasan people The Nganasans ( ; Nganasan: ''ŋənəhsa(nəh)'', ''ńæh'') are a Uralic people of the Samoyedic peoples, Samoyedic branch native to the Taymyr Peninsula in north Siberia. In the Russian Federation, they are recognized as one of the indigenou ...

are an indigenous Samoyedic people inhabiting central Siberia, including the Taymyr Peninsula. In the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, they are recognized as being one of the Small-Numbered peoples of the Russian North. They reside primarily in the settlements of Ust-Avam, Volachanka, and Novaya in the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of

, with smaller populations residing in the towns of Dudinka and

Norilsk Norilsk ( rus, Нори́льск, p=nɐˈrʲilʲsk) is a closed city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of the western Taymyr Peninsula, around 90 km east of the Yenisei, Yenisey River and 1,500 km north of Krasnoyarsk. Norilsk is 300 ...

as well. The isolated location of the Nganasan people enabled them to maintain shamanistic practices even in the 20th century.

Economy

MMC Norilsk Nickel conducts mining operations in the area. The company conducts

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

operations in the area of the city of

, near the peninsula. The nickel ore concentrate and other products of the company are transported over a short railroad to the port city of Dudinka on the Yenisei River, and from there by boat to

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

and other ports.

Ecology

File:Kap Tscheljuskin 1 2012-08-05.jpg, Cape Chelyuskin, northernmost point of Afro-Eurasian mainland; 77°43'22" N, 104°15'13" E File:Tundra in Siberia.jpg, Taymyr landscape File:Ovibos moschatus qtl3.jpg, Muskox, an

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

of the family Bovidae, successfully reintroduced to the Taymyr Peninsula region in 1975 The peninsula is the site of the last known naturally occurring muskox outside of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, which died out about 2,000 years ago. They were successfully reintroduced in 1975. The population grew to 2,500 in 2002, increasing to 6,500 in 2010. Study in 2021 found that based on eDNA,

woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived from the Middle Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with the African ...

s survived on the Taymyr Peninsula until 3,900 to 4,100 years ago, roughly concurrent with the Wrangel population. The Taymyr Peninsula, with its drier habitat, may have served as a refugium for the

mammoth steppe The mammoth steppe, also known as steppe-tundra, was once the Earth's most extensive biome. During glacial periods in the later Pleistocene, it stretched east-to-west, from the Iberian Peninsula in the west of Europe, then across Eurasia and thr ...

, supporting mammoths and other widespread Ice Age mammals such as wild horses ('' Equus'' sp.).

Climate

The coasts of the Taymyr Peninsula are frozen most of the year, between September and June on average. The summer season is short, especially on the shores of the Laptev Sea in the northeast. The climate in the north and exterior of the peninsula is

Tundra Climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

( ET), while some areas further-south have a very cold but somewhat more continental

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

, with winters even slightly colder than the tundra directly to the north, but with somewhat warmer summers that can support some tree growth. Winters are harsh, with frequent blizzards and extremely low temperatures. The following data for Cape Chelyuskin provides an indication of the weather experienced in the northern part of the peninsula.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* (The title means “Shamans in Eurasia”, the book is written in Hungarian, but it is published also in German, Estonian and Finnish
Site of publisher with short description on the book (in Hungarian)
.)

External links

Taymyr Peninsula photographs
{{Authority control Peninsulas of Russia Landforms of Severnaya Zemlya