Where is Rudolf Island? Description of the island

Have you ever heard of Rudolf Island? Its geographical location, description and history of discovery are given in the article.

Location

In the north of Europe, in the severe Arctic Ocean, lies the island of Rudolph. It belongs to the archipelago called Franz Josef Land, is its extreme point in the north. It is part of the polar possessions of Russia, belongs to the Primorsky district of the Arkhangelsk region.

Geographical coordinates of the island of Rudolph are: 81 degrees 47 minutes north latitude and 58 degrees 39 minutes east longitude.

Description

Rudolph Island is small. Its area is only 297 km square. The highest point lies in the center and is 460 m above sea level. The climate here is arctic, the average annual temperature is -12 ° C. The island has an unremarkable, deserted and dreary landscape, almost entirely covered by a glacier. There are several nameless lakes on it, which are also covered with ice all year round.

Permafrost reigns here. It seems that under such conditions there can be neither animals, nor vegetation. But this is not so. The island flora is represented mainly by mosses and lichens, and there are other plants - polar poppy, polar willow, saxifrage. The local owner is a polar bear, there is rarely a polar fox, seals, walruses and seals are found in the coastal waters. In the summer, bird markets are formed on the island.

In this territory there is no permanent population, since it is not suitable for life. There is not a single settlement or any construction of economic significance. People who are on the island are scientists, meteorologists and border guards. Here operates the polar station Rudolph.

History of the discovery

The island of Rudolph was discovered in 1873 by the Austro-Hungarian polar expedition of J. Payer, when she explored the Franz Josef archipelago. Named after the Crown Prince of Austria.

Initially, it was assumed that to the north of this patch of land lie other islands, but in 1900 an expedition led by Captain Kanyi established that this was not so. Rudolph Island was the northernmost land of Russia and Europe, as well as the entire Eurasian continent.

Interesting Facts

On this earth in 1914 the famous polar explorer G.Ya. Sedov, who died during another expedition to the North Pole.

The ice that covers the island reaches a thickness of 500 meters!

The most extreme northern point of the land of the Russian Federation is Cape Fligeli on the island of Rudolph. Here there is a powerful wooden cross from a larch, it weighs 300 kg, it is established in 2003.