Idlidlya Island is a small island in the Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...

. It is close to the coast, being only 2 km (1.2 mi) away from the shores of the Chukotka Peninsula in the area of the coastal landspits enclosing Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon

Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon

The Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon is a shallow coastal lake in the Chukchi Sea at the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. 30 km to the east is Kolyuchinskaya Bay and 25 km west, Cape Serdtse-Kamen....

.

This island is only 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) in length. There is a small Chukchi

Chukchi people

The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...

 village called Neshkan

Neshkan

Neshkan is a rural locality in Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the shores of the Chukchi Sea on a sandy spit that divides Neskyipilgyn Lagoon from the sea, close to Idlidlya Island...

on the coast close to the island.

The importance of this small island lies in the fact that many environmental observations, like monitoring of species, are taken from it.

History

In October 2004 there was a severe oil spill and about 700 birds with oil-damaged plumage were found by hunters in the Chukotka shores. The environmental disaster affected the whole coast between the Neshkan peninsula and Idlidlya island.

External links

• Satellite picture
• http://worldmaps.web.infoseek.co.jp/russia_guide.htm
• Environmental problems
• Bowhead whales near Idlidlya
• Environmental impact map (A. 1-3a)