Kolyuchin Island
Encyclopedia
Kolyuchin Island or Koliuchin Island is a small island in the Chukchi Sea
. It is not far from the coast, being only 11 km (6.8 mi) from the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula. Its latitude is 67° 28' N and its longitude 174° 37' E.
This island is 4.5 km (2.8 mi) in length and its maximum width is 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi). It is covered with tundra
vegetation
. There was a small Chukchi
settlement on the southern end of the island called Koliuchino but as of 1987, there was no village and very rare traces of former human presence such as separate logs and coals.
On the nearby shore there is the settlement of Nutepel'men
, located north of the Rypatynonel'gyn Lagoon and south of the Pyngopil'gyn Lagoon. Kolyuchinskaya Bay
, further south, is named after Kolyuchin Island. Administratively this island and its surrounding area belongs to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
of the Russian Federation.
got crushed by pack ice near Kolyuchin Island. The passengers and crew were rescued by air in a dramatic and much publicised operation which made heroes of Captain Vladimir Voronin and expedition leader Otto Schmidt
.
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 not far from the coast, being only 11 km (6.8 mi) from the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula. Its latitude is 67° 28' N and its longitude 174° 37' E.
This island is 4.5 km (2.8 mi) in length and its maximum width is 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi). It is covered with tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
. There was 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...
settlement on the southern end of the island called Koliuchino but as of 1987, there was no village and very rare traces of former human presence such as separate logs and coals.
On the nearby shore there is the settlement of Nutepel'men
Nutepelmen
Nutepelmen , is a village on the northern shores of Iultinsky District, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. The village is a traditional Chukchi and Yupik settlement in an area that has been inhabited for centuries...
, located north of the Rypatynonel'gyn Lagoon and south of the Pyngopil'gyn Lagoon. Kolyuchinskaya Bay
Kolyuchinskaya Bay
Kolyuchinskaya Bay is a large bay in the Chukchi Sea on the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. To the west is Cape Vankarem and to the east Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon and Cape Serdtse-Kamen. The length of the bay is 100 km. Its mouth is only 2.8 km because of the Serykh Gusey...
, further south, is named after Kolyuchin Island. Administratively this island and its surrounding area belongs to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
of the Russian Federation.
History
In September 1933 Soviet ice-breaker CheliuskinChelyuskin steamship
SS Chelyuskin was a Soviet steamship reinforced to navigate through polar ice that became ice-bound in Arctic waters during navigation along the Northern Maritime Route from Murmansk to Vladivostok...
got crushed by pack ice near Kolyuchin Island. The passengers and crew were rescued by air in a dramatic and much publicised operation which made heroes of Captain Vladimir Voronin and expedition leader Otto Schmidt
Otto Schmidt
Otto Yulyevich Schmidt was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesman, academician, Hero of the USSR , and member of the Communist Party.-Biography:He was born in Mogilev, Russian Empire...
.
External links
- Armstrong, T., The Russians in the Arctic, London, 1958.
- Early Soviet Exploration: http://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/history/history_soviet.html
- History of Russian Arctic Exploration: http://www.tour-land.ru/extr/north_p/eng/hist_ark.shtml
- Pictures of animals in Kolyuchin Island: http://www.geophoto.ru/?action=search&sgeo=7560
- Prydatko-Dolin V. Kolyuchin Island Landscapes. My Arctic-in-Art, 2010 (Rus.): http://vasylprydatko.org.ua/2010/02/kolyuchin/