The territory of Russia includes a considerable number of islands and archipelagos. And each of them is unique, has special characteristics, an unusual history of discovery and development. The largest islands include the famous Sakhalin, the Novaya Zemlya islands and others.
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The link talks about the largest islands in the world:
10 largest islands in the world and surprising facts about them
Sakhalin
Square: 76,600 km²
Sakhalin Island is the largest island in Russia, located in the Far East, washed by the seas of Japan and Okhotsk. The history of its discovery is connected with the name of Ataman Ivan Moskvitin. In 1639, he and a detachment of Cossacks reached the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and discovered new lands – the largest island in Russia, Sakhalin.
The flora and fauna of this extraordinary but harsh region surprises with its diversity. Only here you can find a “botanical wonder of the world”: nettles, buckwheat and ferns reach a height of 5 m. Anton Chekhov mentions with admiration the enormous human-sized burdocks in his notes.
Sakhalin is a real “bird kingdom”: up to 700 species of birds live here. The largest colony of sea lions in the world is located off the coast. Sperm whales, killer whales and blue whales often swim in the marine waters surrounding the island. And in the forests of Sakhalin there are brown bears, foxes of different colors and other animals.
There is also an abandoned section of the Kholmsk-Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway, popular with tourists, which has always been considered the most picturesque.
Sakhalin
Photo: Aguus/istockphoto.com
Northern
Square: 48,904 km²
It is considered the northern island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, washed by the waters of two seas: the Kara and Barents seas and is part of the Arkhangelsk region. Severny Island was discovered on September 4, 1913. The hydrographic expedition led by Boris Vilkitsky managed to reach new lands on board the icebreakers Taimyr and Valgach.
Almost half of the territory of Severny Island is occupied by continuous mountain glaciers. The sparse vegetation here is not pleasing to the eye. Mosses, lichens and polar flowers, which come to life only in spring, are the only representatives of the local flora.
But walruses feel at home here, constantly resting on the shore of the island. Reindeer, arctic hares, polar bears, arctic foxes and wolves are the main representatives of the fauna in this uncomfortable territory.
Novaya Zemlya Archipelago
Photo: Vlad_Losh/istockphoto.com
South
Square: 33,275 km²
The island is part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and is separated from the Severny Strait by the Matochkin Shar Strait. It is also washed by the Barents and Kara seas. It is assumed that Yuzhny Island was discovered in the 12th and 13th centuries by Novgorod merchants, who achieved a kind of feat. In incredibly harsh conditions, without the necessary equipment, in wooden boats they managed to cross the ice to the precious shore.
The territory of Yuzhny Island is a tundra desert covered with mosses and lichens. However, despite the unstable polar climate, ferns, dwarf birches, swamp forget-me-nots and other plants grow quite successfully. Here you can collect a good harvest of blueberries and blackberries.
Reindeer and lemmings, in large numbers, are the main inhabitants of the land part of the island. On the sea coast, polar bears often hunt seals. There are also 86 species of birds on Yuzhny Island.
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Boiler room
Square: 23,200 km²
Kotelny Island in the New Siberian Islands archipelago is considered the largest area of land. Kotelny is located in the Arctic Ocean, between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea. It was opened in 1773 by the merchant Ivan Lyakhov. It is curious that the copper cauldron abandoned during the first exploration of the territory gave its name to the island.
Kotelny is essentially a vast arctic desert, made up of rare shrubs: local willows and polar birches. Here you can also find flowering plants: saxifrage, partridge.
The island was full of lemmings: polar mice and arctic foxes. Polar bears constantly enter their territory in search of prey. It is true that reindeer, hunted by predators, go to the mainland in winter. The rivers and lakes of Kotelny Island are home to navaga, omul and herring. And on the sea coast the seals and walruses found refuge.
Walrus
Photo: nikpal/istockphoto.com
Island of the October Revolution
Square: 13,708 km²
This place belongs to the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and is considered its central island. It is washed by the waters of the Laptev Sea and the Kara Sea. The Island of the October Revolution was discovered on August 22, 1913 during a hydrographic expedition led by Boris Vilnitsky. Mountain ranges, glaciers and volcanoes give it a unique look.
The surface of the island is more than 13,000 km² and it is surprising that neither the constant severe frosts nor the icy sea winds affected the diversity of flora and fauna.
Pine trees, mosses and lichens coexist here with the arctic pink mulberry, a small bush with red fruits, a favorite food of bullfinches, pigeons and other birds. And the Kamchatka poppy, an annual plant with orange leaves, grows right next to the shallows. By the way, its seeds contain oil, which is widely used in medicine.
The polar bear is a symbol of local fauna. And among the marine animals, it is worth highlighting the white-toothed whale lynx, a black and white orca.
Polar bear
Photo: KeithSzafranski/istockphoto.com
Wrangel Island
Square: 7670 km²
Wrangel Island is located on the border of the East Siberian and Chukchi seas. It was discovered in 1867 by an expedition led by American whaling captain Thomas Long. The island is named after the 19th century Russian navigator Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel.
On its territory there is a unique nature reserve “Wrangel Island”. It was created in 1976 and is protected. Wrangel Island is a “maternity hospital” for polar bears, which feel completely safe here, settling in their dens. And the number of such housing for Arctic owners increases every year. Polar owls are one of the reserve’s calling cards. The birds have adapted well to local conditions and the density of their nests is very high.
The island is a continuous tundra, where lichens and mosses mainly grow.
Village on Wrangel Island
Photo: Gerald Corsi/istockphoto.com
New Siberia Island
Square: 6200 km²
It is located in the East Siberian Sea, belongs to the eastern part of the New Siberian Islands and is washed from the southwest by the Sannikov Strait. The island was discovered in 1805 by the famous Russian traveler Yakov Sannikov.
This decent piece of land in the middle of the sea is now called the Land of the Mammoths. Remains of ancient animals were found here, often emerging from thawing permafrost. The vegetation of New Siberia Island is quite sparse and the natural resources are mainly reeds, mosses, lichens, liverworts and herbs. Part of the territory is part of the protective zone of the Ust-Lensky nature reserve.
The island of New Siberia is, as it were, entangled in a network of numerous rivers. And that is why it has become a favorable place for birds. Bears, wolverines, reindeer and arctic foxes represent the typical fauna of the inhabitants of the northern region.
Mammoth remains
Photo: Gerald Corsi/istockphoto.com
Bolshoi Liakhovsky Island
Square: 5300 km²
It is located in the Laptev Sea and is considered the largest of the Lyakhov group of islands, which are part of the Novosibirsk archipelago. Bolshoi Lyakhovsky is part of the Ust-Lensky nature reserve. The island was discovered in 1770 by the merchant Ivan Lyakhov by pure chance. The herd of reindeer he followed across the ice took him to new lands.
The island is a swampy arctic tundra. Resin moss, moss, polar poppy and cinquefoil are its usual plants, which cover the entire territory in summer.
The fauna of Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island is not particularly diverse. The wolves, foxes, ubiquitous lemmings, arctic foxes and polar bears that sometimes roam the territory are a common sight for the local fauna.
Lemming
Photo: Gerald Corsi/istockphoto.com
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