Graham Bell Island
Native name: Остров Греэм-Белл | |
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| File:Kara sea ZFJGB.PNG Location of Graham Bell Island in the Franz Josef Archipelago | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Kara Sea/Barents Sea, Arctic Ocean |
| Coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| Archipelago | Franz Josef Land |
| Area | 1,557 km2 (601 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 509 m (1670 ft) |
| Highest point | Kupol Vetrenyy |
| Administration | |
Russia | |
Graham Bell Island (Russian: Остров Греэм-Белл, Ostrov Greem-Bell) is an island in the Franz Josef Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and is administratively part of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.
Geography
[edit | edit source]Graham Bell Island is one of the largest islands of the group. It lies east of Wilczek Land, separated from it by a narrow sound known as Morgan Sound (Пролив Моргана; Proliv Morgana). It is also the easternmost island of Franz Josef Land. Cape Kohlsaat, the easternmost point of the archipelago at 81°14′N, 65°10′E, lies on Graham Bell Island's eastern shore. Cape Kohlsaat marks the northwesternmost corner of the Kara Sea and is a significant geographical landmark, and it is partly glacierized.
The highest point of Graham Bell Island, 509 m (1,670 ft), is the summit of Kupol Vetrenyy (Купол Ветреный) "Windy Dome", a large ice dome covering the western part of the island.[1]
This island was named after inventor Alexander Graham Bell.[2] Graham Bell Island should not be confused with the smaller Bell Island which is also part of the Franz Josef Archipelago and is named after the shape, not the person.[3][4]
History
[edit | edit source]Graham Bell Island was discovered on 2 May 1899 by a sledging party of the Wellman expedition composed of Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, Daniel Johansen, Emil Ellefsen, Olaf Ellefsen, and Paul Bjørvig.[2]
It is home to a Cold War outpost and to the airfield Greem Bell (Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.) on the Northeastern end of the island. It is the largest airfield in the archipelago. It has a runway 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) long. Russian cargo and fighter aircraft have regularly landed here since the 1950s. The runway was usable only in the 8 months of the year with sufficiently frozen ground. Before it was shut down, it was also used for tourist helicopter trips around the Russian arctic as a stopover and refueling base. The base was shut down completely in 1994. It began falling into ruins and was subsequently closed to normal visitors.[5] In May 2012, the Russian Air Force announced it would reopen Graham Bell Airfield as part of a series of reopenings of air bases in the Arctic.[6]
Adjacent islands
[edit | edit source]- Graham Bell Island's northern shore is fringed by clusters of very small islets.
- Ostrov Trëkhluchevoy – lies off its western shore at Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. and is only 2 km in length.
- Ostrov Udachnyy – is part of a cluster of islets located along the NW shores Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- All locations: [1]
- https://archive.today/20071026183049/http://www.geosite.com.ru/pageid-335-1.html
- Island Directory. Unep.org.
- Graham-Bell Island (Russian).
- Graham-Bell airfield (Russian).
Citations
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
