Ushakov Island
Encyclopedia
Ushakov Island is an isolated island located in the Arctic Ocean
, midway between Franz Josef Land
and Severnaya Zemlya
, at the northern limit of the Kara Sea
. Its latitude is 80° 48' N and its longitude 79° 29' E.
This island is desolate and subject to severe Arctic storms. It is close to the limit of permanent ice. Its total area is 328 km². Forty-five percent of its surface is covered by glaciers and its highest altitude is 294 m. The closest land is lonely Vize Island
140 km further South.
Owing to its extreme northerly location the sea surrounding Ushakov Island is covered with pack ice in the winter and it is full of ice floes even in the short summer.
Ushakov Island is the only place at sea level in the whole Northern Hemisphere where temperature has never reached 10C.
were examined by Soviet icebreaker operations to study the sea and ice. The expedition was led by Georgiy Alekseevich Ushakov
aboard Icebreaker Sadko
. The elusive island was subsequently named after this polar explorer, cartographer and oceanographer.
The first wintering in Ushakov Island was undertaken in 1954-55 and a polar station was established in 1954.
Ushakov Island belongs to the Krasnoyarsk Krai
administrative division of the Russian Federation.
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, midway between Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land, Franz Joseph Land, or Francis Joseph's Land is an archipelago located in the far north of Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean north of Novaya Zemlya and east of Svalbard, and is administered by Arkhangelsk Oblast. Franz Josef Land consists of 191 ice-covered islands with a...
and Severnaya Zemlya
Severnaya Zemlya
Severnaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Russian high Arctic at around . It is located off mainland Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula across the Vilkitsky Strait...
, at the northern limit of the Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
. Its latitude is 80° 48' N and its longitude 79° 29' E.
This island is desolate and subject to severe Arctic storms. It is close to the limit of permanent ice. Its total area is 328 km². Forty-five percent of its surface is covered by glaciers and its highest altitude is 294 m. The closest land is lonely Vize Island
Vize Island
Vize Island or Wiese Island is an isolated island located in the Arctic Ocean at the northern end of the Kara Sea, roughly midway between Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya, its latitude is 79° 30' N and its longitude 76° 54' E...
140 km further South.
Owing to its extreme northerly location the sea surrounding Ushakov Island is covered with pack ice in the winter and it is full of ice floes even in the short summer.
Ushakov Island is the only place at sea level in the whole Northern Hemisphere where temperature has never reached 10C.
History
This island was the last piece of undiscovered territory in the Soviet Arctic. It was finally discovered in 1935 when the few remaining unexplored areas in the northern Kara SeaKara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
were examined by Soviet icebreaker operations to study the sea and ice. The expedition was led by Georgiy Alekseevich Ushakov
Georgy Ushakov
Georgy Alexeyevich Ushakov was a Soviet explorer of the Arctic, Doctor of Geographic Sciences ....
aboard Icebreaker Sadko
Icebreaker Sadko
Icebreaker Sadko was a Russian and Soviet icebreaker ship of 3,800 tonnes displacement. She was named after Sadko, a hero of a Russian bylina....
. The elusive island was subsequently named after this polar explorer, cartographer and oceanographer.
The first wintering in Ushakov Island was undertaken in 1954-55 and a polar station was established in 1954.
Ushakov Island belongs to the Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
administrative division of the Russian Federation.
External links
- - Arctic Glaciers; Ushakov Island
- The route over the drifting ice of Kara Sea from Frantz-Josef Land Archipelago to Ushakov Island
See also
- List of islands of Russia
- Arctic OceanArctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...