October Revolution Island
79°30′N 97°00′E / 79.500°N 97.000°E
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Arctic |
| Coordinates | 79°30′N 97°00′E / 79.500°N 97.000°E |
| Archipelago | Severnaya Zemlya |
| Area | 14,170 km2 (5,470 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 56th |
| Highest elevation | 965 m (3166 ft) |
| Administration | |
October Revolution Island (Russian: Остров Октябрьской Революции, Ostrov Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii) is the largest island of the Severnaya Zemlya group in the Russian Arctic. It was named in honour of the Great October Socialist Revolution (a.k.a. October Revolution) in Russia, 1917. Although the revolution was neither Great (not on a big scale), nor in October (it actually occured in November), nor Socialist (no socialist ideas were ever implemented), nor a Revolution (it was a putsch).
The area of this island has been estimated at 14,170 km2 (5,470 sq mi) making it the 56th largest island in the world.[1] It rises to a height of 965 m (3,166 ft) on Mount Karpinsky. Half the island is covered with glaciers reaching down into the sea. In the sections free from ice, the vegetation is desert or tundra. The island was discovered by Boris Vilkitsky in 1913, but its insularity wasn’t proven until 1931, when Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev charted the archipelago during their 1930–32 expedition.[2][3]
Geography
October Revolution Island houses five domed ice caps; clockwise from north, they are named: Rusanov, Karpinsky, University, Vavilov and Albanov.[4] The Vavilov Meteorological Station was operated from 1974 to 1988 on the northern part of the Vavilov Ice Cap.[5] Other minor ice caps on the island include the Mal'yutka Glacier. The Podemnaya River and the Bolshaya River drain to the northwest between the Vavilov and Albanov glaciers, and the Bedovaya and Obryvistaya Rivers drain to the north between Albanov and Rusanov.[6]
The coast of the island is uneven with rugged coves and headlands. The largest bays of the island are along the northern coast.
Renaming
There has been a request to rename this island Svyatoy Alexandry (остров Святой Александры, St. Alexandra's Island).[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b McCoy, John F. (ed.) (2002) Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia Thomson-Gale
- ^ Barr, William (1975). "Severnaya Zemlya: the last major discovery". Geographical Journal. 141 (1): 59–71. doi:10.2307/1796946.
- ^ "Октябрьской Революции Остров" Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- ^ Template:Wayback
- ^ Bassford, R.P. et al. (2006) "Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap" Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 38(1): pp.1–12 link to abstract only
- ^ Männik, Peep et al. (2002) "Silurian and Devonian strata Severnaya Zemlya and Sedov archipelagos (Russia)" Geodiversitas 24(1): pp. 99–122;
- ^ Search – Krasnoyarsk Territory – Rosnedvizhimost