Nansena Island is an island in 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...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. The island is partly glaciated and its area is 164 km² (63 sq mi). The highest point of the island is 372 m (1,220 ft).

The island is located in the center of a cluster of islands of similar size separated from each other by narrow sounds. The channel to the southwest of the subgroup is Proliv Allen-Yung , the one at the southeast is Proliv Sidorova , the channel to the northeast is the Proliv Markama , and the one in the west is the Proliv Britansky Kanal .

Mys Artura is the cape in the north of the island. The cape in the southwest is known as Mys Ushakova, after Russian Arctic explorer Georgy Ushakov

Georgy Ushakov

Georgy Alexeyevich Ushakov was a Soviet explorer of the Arctic, Doctor of Geographic Sciences ....

, and the southernmost point is called Mys Teylora (Cape Taylor).

Nansena Island is named in the honor and memory of Arctic explorer 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...

, who explored and charted the Franz Josef Archipelago in 1896.

Adjacent islands

• Ostrov Ketlitsa (Остров Кетлица), Koetlitz Island is a long island which lies off the northwestern tip of Nansen island. Glacierized, maximum height
  158 m (518 ft). The cape at its northern end is known as Mys Polyarnogo Siyaniya and its southernmost came is Mys Giuys. The channel separating this island from Nansen island is known as Proliv Roberta Piliya. Koetlitz Island was named in honor of the geologist of the 1894-1897 Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition
  Frederick George Jackson
  Frederick George Jackson , British Arctic explorer, was educated at Denstone College and Edinburgh University.-Biography:...
  
   to the Franz Josef Archipelago, Dr. Reginald Koetlitz.
• Ostrov Uiltona (Остров Уильтона), Wilton Island is a small island off Nansen Island's northeastern coast. It is separated from it by a 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) narrow sound. It was named after Scottish
  Scotland
  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
  
   explorer David W. Wilton, also of the 1894-1897 Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition. Wilton had lived for some years in the north of Russia before joining the expedition.
• Ostrov Bromidzh (Остров Бромидж), Bromwich Island lies east of Nansen Island; (lat 80.49 long 54.9). It is covered by an ice-cap, but it has a few unglacierized areas at small points near its shores. Maximum height 392 m (1,286 ft).
• Ostrov Braysa (Остров Брайса), Brice Island lies south of Bromwich Island. There is an icecap in the middle of the island but large swathes of land are unglacierized in the north and southwest. Maximum height 409 m (1,342 ft). This island was named after Arthur Montefiore Brice, the secretary of the 1894-1897 Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition.
• Ostrov Pritchetta (Остров Притчетта), Pritchett Island lies off Nansen Island's southern shore. This island is quite large and has a few areas free of glaciers. Highest point 401 m (1,316 ft). The name of this island is very likely a corruption of Karl Weyprecht
  Karl Weyprecht
  Karl Weyprecht, also spelt Carl Weyprecht, was an Austro-Hungarian explorer. He was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He is most famous as an Arctic explorer, and an advocate of international cooperation for scientific polar exploration...
  
  's name (the initial syllable "We" having disappeared). Since Weyprecht was one of the two leaders of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition
  Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition
  The Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition was an expedition that ran from 1872–74 and discovered Franz-Josef Land. According to Julius von Payer, one of the leaders, the journey was to find the north-eastern passage. It actually explored the area northwest of Novaya Zemlya. According to the...
  
  , along with Payer, who has an island named after him further to the northeast in the same archipelago, it is very unlikely that Weyprecht would not have an island named after him in Franz Josef Land.
• Ostrov Blissa (Остров Блисса), Bliss Island lies south of Pritchet Island. Partly unglacierized.
• Ostrov Dzheffersona (Остров Джефферсона), Jefferson Island is a much smaller island lying off Nansen Island's southwestern shore. This island was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson
  Thomas Jefferson
  Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
  
   by the 1901 Baldwin-Ziegler North Pole Expedition.

External links

• http://islands.unep.ch/CEO.htm & http://land.worldcitydb.com/arkhangel%C3%A3%C2%A2%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%C3%A2%E2%84%A2skaya_%C3%A3%C2%A2%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%C3%A2%E2%84%A2_in_russian_federation_state.html
• Recent expeditions: http://www.mvk.ru/about/project/north/06/list_24.shtm
• On the (sometimes bewildering) spelling of Russian geographical names: http://www.rmconner.com/transedt/placenam.htm
• David W. Wilton: http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/0301wil.html