Geiberg Islands
Encyclopedia
The Heiberg Islands, spelt Geyberg, Gejberg or Geiberg (Russian: Гейберга Острова; Geyberga Ostrova or also острова Акселя Гейберга) is a group of four small islands covered with tundra vegetation and with scattered stones on their shores. They lie in the Kara Sea
, between the bleak coast of Siberia
's Taymyr Peninsula
and Severnaya Zemlya
. These islands are between 35 and 45 km (21.7 and 28 mi) from the continental shore.
The Heiberg Islands are covering the entrance to the Vilkitsky Strait
from the east.
The latitude of this group is 77° 40' N and the longitude 101° 27' E. 77°40′N 101°27′E
The largest island of the group is only about
5 km (3.1 mi) in length.
The sea surrounding the Heiberg Islands is covered with fast ice in the winter, which is long and bitter, and the climate is severe. The surrounding sea is obstructed by pack ice even in the summer, so that these islands are connected with the mainland for most of the year.
The Heiberg Islands were named by Fridtjof Nansen
after Axel Heiberg
, financial director of the Norwegian
Ringnes
brewery, who was the main financier of the Fram
expedition to the Arctic. These Siberian islands should not be confused with Axel Heiberg Island
in Canada
.
This island group belongs to the Krasnoyarsk Krai
administrative division of the Russian Federation. It is also part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve
, the largest nature reserve of Russia.
.
After the breakup of the USSR, commercial navigation in the Arctic went into decline. More or less regular shipping is presently to be found only from Murmansk
to Dudinka
in the west and between Vladivostok
and Pevek
in the east. The areas around the Taymyr Peninsula
, including the Vilkitsky Strait, see next to no shipping at all.
The polar station on the Heiberg Islands is now abandoned, with millions of rubles of equipment still there.
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....
, between the bleak coast of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
's Taymyr Peninsula
Taymyr Peninsula
The Taymyr Peninsula is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of mainland Eurasia and Asia...
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...
. These islands are between 35 and 45 km (21.7 and 28 mi) from the continental shore.
The Heiberg Islands are covering the entrance to the Vilkitsky Strait
Vilkitsky Strait
Vilkitsky Strait is a strait between the Taimyr Peninsula and Bolshevik Island in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. The strait connects the Kara and Laptev Seas. The length of the Vilkitsky Strait is 104 km, the width – approx. 55 km, and the depth – between 32 and 210 m. It is...
from the east.
The latitude of this group is 77° 40' N and the longitude 101° 27' E. 77°40′N 101°27′E
The largest island of the group is only about
5 km (3.1 mi) in length.
The sea surrounding the Heiberg Islands is covered with fast ice in the winter, which is long and bitter, and the climate is severe. The surrounding sea is obstructed by pack ice even in the summer, so that these islands are connected with the mainland for most of the year.
The Heiberg Islands were named by Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
after Axel Heiberg
Axel Heiberg
Axel Heiberg was a Norwegian diplomat, financier and patron.He was married to Ragnhild Meyer, daughter of Thorvald Meyer; they had one child, Ingeborg...
, financial director of the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Ringnes
Ringnes
Ringnes is the largest brewer in Norway.-History:Ringnes AS was founded in 1876. The company's brewery in the Grünerløkka district of Oslo produced its first beer in 1877. The brewery was founded by brothers Amund and Ellef Ringnes together with financial director Axel Heiberg...
brewery, who was the main financier of the Fram
Fram
Fram is a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912...
expedition to the Arctic. These Siberian islands should not be confused with Axel Heiberg Island
Axel Heiberg Island
Axel Heiberg Island is an island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 31st largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According to Statistics Canada, it has an area of ....
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
This island group 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. It is also part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve
Great Arctic State Nature Reserve
The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia...
, the largest nature reserve of Russia.
History
A Soviet polar meteorological station was established on Heiberg in 1940 to aid navigation of the Northern Sea RouteNorthern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
.
After the breakup of the USSR, commercial navigation in the Arctic went into decline. More or less regular shipping is presently to be found only from Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
to Dudinka
Dudinka
Dudinka is a town and the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It was the administrative center of Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, which was merged into Krasnoyarsk Krai on January 1, 2007. It is a port in the lower reaches of the Yenisei River,...
in the west and between Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
and Pevek
Pevek
Pevek is a town and Arctic port in Chaunsky District, part of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. After Anadyr and Bilibino it is the third largest town in Chukotka. Population: Municipally, the town is subordinated to Chaunsky Municipal district and together with Apapelgino and Yanranay, is...
in the east. The areas around the Taymyr Peninsula
Taymyr Peninsula
The Taymyr Peninsula is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of mainland Eurasia and Asia...
, including the Vilkitsky Strait, see next to no shipping at all.
The polar station on the Heiberg Islands is now abandoned, with millions of rubles of equipment still there.
Adjacent islands
- Closer to the coast there is a 3 km (1.9 mi) long island called Helland-Hansen Island (Ostrov Gellanda-Gansena). Usually this island is not considered part of the Heiberg group, but it lies quite close to it, at only 28 km ESE of Vostochnyy Island. This single island was named after NorwegianNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
pioneer of modern oceanographyOceanographyOceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
Bjorn Helland-HansenBjorn Helland-HansenBjørn Helland-Hansen was a Norwegian pioneer in the field of modern oceanography. He studied the variation patterns of the weather in the northern Atlantic Ocean and of the atmosphere....
(b. 1877 in Oslo, d. 1957 in Bergen).
- Further south lie two islands close to the coast. Povorotnyy is the larger one close to the shore. The smaller one further offshore is called Vecherniy.
External links
- Polar Station: http://oopt.info/barctic/science.html.
- Nature Reserve: http://www.bigarctic.ru/Eng
- A first-person account of the Taymyr's voyage in 1938, including a bear hunt and snow blindness on Heiberg Islands: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/papanin_id/03.html.
- Account of a ski expedition in 1994: http://old.intertat.ru/index.php?cat=r&bigoffset=0µoffset=0&id=45327.
- Description of sightings of wolves and other wild animals on Heiberg. http://www.ecosystema.ru/07referats/zapov_ark.htm
- Professor Helland-Hansen: (in German)