The Middendorff Bay, is a deeply indented bay in the shores of 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...

. It is located southwest of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago

Nordenskiöld Archipelago

The Nordenskiöld Archipelago or Nordenskjold Archipelago is a very large and complex cluster of islands in the eastern region of the Kara Sea. Its eastern limit lies west of the Taymyr Peninsula....

 in 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....

 and it is open towards the west. This bay is limited on its eastern side by the Zarya Peninsula, named after Baron Eduard von Toll

Eduard Toll

Eduard Gustav von Toll was a Baltic German geologist and Arctic explorer in Russian service. Often referred to as Baron von Toll or as Eduard v. Toll, in Russia he is known as Eduard Vasiliyevich Toll . Eduard Toll was born on and he died in 1902 in an unknown location in the Arctic Ocean)...

's ship Zarya

Zarya (polar ship)

Zarya was a steam- and sail-powered brig used by the Russian Academy of Sciences for a polar exploration during 1900–1903.Toward the end of the 19th century, the Russian Academy of Sciences sought to build a general-purpose research vessel for long-term expeditions. The first such Russian...

. On the northern side of the Zarya Peninsula there is a small gulf called Bukhta Kolomeitseva, named after Captain N. N. Kolomeitsev

Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolomeitsev

Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolomeitsev, also spelt Kolomeytsev was a Ukrainian Russian naval officer and explorer of the Arctic.-Biography:...

, commander of ship Zarya.

The Middendorff Bay is surrounded by bleak tundra coast. It is full of small islands and island groups, foremost of which are Gavrilova Island, the Shren Islands, the Krusenstern Islands, and farther offshore, Belukha and Prodolgovatyy Islands. The small Myachina Islands are located 3 km (1.9 mi) off Cape Vilda

Cape Vilda

Cape Vilda is a landhead in the Kara Sea, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian Federation. This cape is located on the western shore of the Taymyr Peninsula, at the western end of the Middendorff Bay....

, further west from the bay along the coast.

The climate in the area is severe, with long and bitter winters and frequent blizzards and gales. This desolate bay is frozen for about nine months in a year and even in summer it is never quite free of ice floes.

The Middendorff Bay and adjacent islands belong 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 and the whole area is 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

This bay was explored by Russian geologist Baron Eduard von Toll

Eduard Toll

Eduard Gustav von Toll was a Baltic German geologist and Arctic explorer in Russian service. Often referred to as Baron von Toll or as Eduard v. Toll, in Russia he is known as Eduard Vasiliyevich Toll . Eduard Toll was born on and he died in 1902 in an unknown location in the Arctic Ocean)...

 during his last venture, the Russian Arctic Expedition of 1900-1903. It was named after Alexander Theodor von Middendorff

Alexander von Middendorff

Alexander Theodor von Middendorff was a Baltic German zoologist and explorer.- Early life :Middendorff's mother Sophia Johanson was an Estonian peasant girl who had been sent to Saint Petersburg for education by her parents. There she met with the future director of the St...

, a Russian zoologist, historian and explorer of Baltic-German origin.

External links

• Nature Reserve: http://www.bigarctic.ru/Eng
• Topographical map: http://maps46.narod.ru/map2/index03.html
• Alexander von Middendorff and his expedition to Siberia (1842–1845): http://journals.cambridge.org/production/action/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=1037548