- Medvyezhi Islands
The Medvyezhi Islands or Bear Islands ( _ru. Медвежьи острова) is an uninhabited group of islands at the western end of the
Kolyma Gulf (Kolymskiy Zaliv) of theEast Siberian Sea . It is located about 100 Km to the north of the mouths of theKolyma River . The coast ofSiberia is about 35 Km to the SW of the largest island, which is about 15 Km long. The islands of this island group are covered with tundra vegetation.The sea surrounding the Medvyezhi Islands is covered with fast ice in the winter and the climate is severe. The surrounding sea is obstructed by pack ice even in the summer months.There is commercial fishing in the area of the Medvezhi Islands during the summer [ [http://www.grida.no/ecora/pdfb/actreports/act5.doc Commercial fishing] ] .
This island group belongs to the
Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. As their name indicates, these islands are a refuge and breeding ground forpolar bear s.The Medvyezhi Islands in the East Siberian Sea should not be confused with
Bear Island , which is an arctic island ofNorway south ofSvalbard . There are also other small Russian islands called Ostrova Medvezh'i, two are located in theKara Sea , offDikson and off the southern tip ofNovaya Zemlya respectively, and one in theShantar Islands ,Sea of Okhotsk . Besides those, there are quite a number of islets in theWhite Sea , in theBaltic Sea and in lakes and rivers in different parts ofRussia called Ostrov Medvezh'i.History
The first recorded European to report the existence of the Medvyezhi Islands was Russian explorer
Yakov Permyakov in 1710. While sailing from the Lena to theKolyma River , Permyakov observed the silhouette of the unknown island group in the then little explored East Siberian Sea.In 1820-1824, during
Ferdinand Wrangel 's Arctic expedition to the East Siberian Sea and theChukchi Sea , Arctic explorerFyodor Matyushkin surveyed and mapped Chetyrekhstolbovoy Island in the Medvyezhi group.On September 3d 1878,
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld recorded that he sailed close to the Bear Islands in the steamship "Vega". This was during the famous expedition that made the whole length of the Northeast passage for the first time in history.References
* [http://land.worldcitydb.com/respublika_sakha_(yakutiya)_in_russian_federation_state.html Geography]
* [http://epic.awi.de/Publications/Polarforsch1975_1_6.pdf The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition 1910-1915]
*Albert Hastings Markham . "Arctic Exploration", 1895ee also
*
East Siberian Sea
*Fyodor Matyushkin
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