Stolbovoy Island
Encyclopedia
Stolbovoy Island is a long and narrow island
off the southwest side of the New Siberian archipelago
in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea
. It is located 184 km away from the Siberian coast and 100 km southwest of Kotelny Island, being thus quite detached from the New Siberian island group, although it belongs to the Lyakhov Islands subgroup of the New Siberian Islands.
Stolbovoy Island's area is approximately 170 km². Its length is 47 km and its maximum width is 10 km. There is a 5 km long lake in the northeast of the island. It is separated from the sea by a narrow spit. The highest point of Stolbovoy Island is 222 meters. The island has 15-70 m high rocky cliffs, the lower relief down to the beach being dominated by step-like stony structures. It belongs to the Sakha Republic administrative division of the Russian Federation.
The climate in the area is exceptionally severe, with prolonged, bitter winters, so that the waters of the Laptev Sea around Stolbovoy Island are covered by ice most of the year.
to Early Cretaceous
periods comprise Stolbovoy Island. These turbidite
s, which contain the fossil
s of marine
pelecypods, consist of beds of sandstone
coarsely and rhythmically interbedded with beds of siltstone
and argillite
. These rocks have been folded into a synclinal structure
, thrust faulted, and intruded by small quartz
diorite
dikes
.
landscapes with scattered, herbs, lichens, mosses, and liverworts. Sedges,
dwarf shrubs, and peaty mires are normally absent. These plants form a sparse (2-40%) and low-growing plant cover. The plants often grow in coarse-grained, often calcareous sediments
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
off the southwest side of the New Siberian archipelago
New Siberian Islands
The New Siberian Islands are an archipelago, located to the North of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha Republic....
in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea
Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy...
. It is located 184 km away from the Siberian coast and 100 km southwest of Kotelny Island, being thus quite detached from the New Siberian island group, although it belongs to the Lyakhov Islands subgroup of the New Siberian Islands.
Stolbovoy Island's area is approximately 170 km². Its length is 47 km and its maximum width is 10 km. There is a 5 km long lake in the northeast of the island. It is separated from the sea by a narrow spit. The highest point of Stolbovoy Island is 222 meters. The island has 15-70 m high rocky cliffs, the lower relief down to the beach being dominated by step-like stony structures. It belongs to the Sakha Republic administrative division of the Russian Federation.
The climate in the area is exceptionally severe, with prolonged, bitter winters, so that the waters of the Laptev Sea around Stolbovoy Island are covered by ice most of the year.
Geology
Tectonically deformed sedimentary rocks that accumulated during Late JurassicJurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
to Early Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
periods comprise Stolbovoy Island. These turbidite
Turbidite
Turbidite geological formations have their origins in turbidity current deposits, which are deposits from a form of underwater avalanche that are responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean.-The ideal turbidite sequence:...
s, which contain the fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s of marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
pelecypods, consist of beds of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
coarsely and rhythmically interbedded with beds of siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...
and argillite
Argillite
An argillite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles. The argillites grade into shale when the fissile layering typical of shale is...
. These rocks have been folded into a synclinal structure
Syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger layers closer to the center of the structure. A synclinorium is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds. Synclines are typically a downward fold, termed a synformal syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger...
, thrust faulted, and intruded by small quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
diorite
Diorite
Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...
dikes
Dike (geology)
A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
.
Vegetation
Cryptogam herb barren covers Stolbovoy Island. It consists of dry to wet barrenlandscapes with scattered, herbs, lichens, mosses, and liverworts. Sedges,
dwarf shrubs, and peaty mires are normally absent. These plants form a sparse (2-40%) and low-growing plant cover. The plants often grow in coarse-grained, often calcareous sediments
External links
- anonymous, nd, Laptev Sea Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
- BirdLife International, 2008, RU118 Stolbovoy island. BirdLife's online World Bird Database: the site for bird conservation. Version 2.1. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.
- Grigoriev, M., nda, ice-affected pebble beach of Stolbovoy Island Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Grigoriev, M., ndb, rocky cliffs (15-70 m high) of Stolbovoy Island Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
