- Big Diomede
Big Diomede Island ( _ru. Острова Диомида , "ostrová Diomida", native name "Imaqliq"), is an island among the
Diomede Islands in the middle of theBering Strait . The island is a part of theChukotka Autonomous Okrug ofRussia .Geography
Big Diomede Island is located about 45 km (28 miles) southwest of
Cape Dezhnev on theChukchi Peninsula and is Russia's easternmost point. The coordinates are coord|65|46|52|N|169|03|25|W|.The rocky
tuya -type island has an area of about 29 square km (11 square miles) [ [http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=207616 History.com] ]The
International Date Line runs just about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) [ [http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=65.759836&lon=-168.927592&spnx=0.1&spny=0.1&m=h Wikimapia] ] east of the island.History
The island has been populated by the
Inuit for a long time.The first European to reach the islands was the Russian explorer
Semyon Dezhnev in1648 . The Danish navigator (in Russian service)Vitus Bering re-discovered the Diomede Islands onAugust 16 ,1728 , the day on which theRussian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the martyrSt. Diomede [ [http://www.russia.com/islands/diomede-islands/ Russia.com] ] .In
1732 , the Russiangeodesist , "Mikhail Gvozdev ", plotted the islands map.In
1867 during theAlaska Purchase the new border between the nations was drawn right between the islands.After
World War II the native population was forced off Big Diomede Island to the mainland in order to avoid contacts across the border but theInupiat people have now returnedFact|date=September 2008.During the
Cold War , that line constituted the border between the USA and theSoviet Union , and became known as the "Ice Curtain". In1987 , however,Lynne Cox swam fromLittle Diomede to Big Diomede and was congratulated jointly byRonald Reagan andMikhail Gorbachev .References
External links
* [http://www.russia.com/islands/diomede-islands/ About Big Diomede Island]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.