| New Zemble | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Country |  Russia |
|---|---|
| Regional capital | Belushya Guba |
| Area | 90 650 km² |
| Population | 2 429 hab. (2011) |
| Density | 0,03 inhab./km² |
| Spindle | UTC 04:00 |
| Location | |
 74 ° 18 ′ 0 ″ N 60 ° 12 ′ 0 ″ E | |
The New Zemble is an archipelago ofArkhangelsk oblast to North West of the Russia. The history of this region is linked to that of Soviet nuclear testing during the Cold War.
Understand
| J | F | M | TO | M | J | J | TO | S | O | NOT | D |
Temperature diagram in ° C | |||||||||||
−11.1 −17.3 | −11.7 −17.9 | −9.3 −15.3 | −6.9 −13.2 | −1.6 −5.9 | 4.7 0.7 | 9.9 5.0 | 8.8 4.8 | 5.3 2.0 | −0.2 −3.9 | −4.9 −9.7 | −8.3 −14.1 |
| 40 | 31 | 29 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 41 | 50 | 47 | 43 | 32 | 32 |
| Temp. max. annual mean in ° C -2.1 | |||||||||||
| Temp. min. annual mean in ° C -7.1 | |||||||||||
| Annual precipitation in mm 419 | |||||||||||
| Legend: Temp. maxi and mini in ° C • Precipitation in mm | |||||||||||
Source:weatherbase | |||||||||||
The archipelago is located in the Arctic Ocean and is bordered by the Kara Sea to the east and the Barents Sea to the west. It includes two main islands: Severny (in the north) and Yuzhny (in the south) which are separated by the very narrow Strait of Matochkin. The territory is mountainous, the highest point is located at 1 070 m altitude. Severny is largely covered with glaciers while the tundra dominates over Yuzhny. Politically these islands are attached to theArkhangelsk oblast, the capital of the district is Belouchia Gouba.
Several European explorations took place in the XVIe century by the British Hugh Willoughby in 1553, then in 1596 by the Dutch Willem Barentsz. The latter died after being stranded by winter on the coasts of Novaya Zemlya. The expedition he is leading must use the wood from their ship to build a cabin. Today this place is visited by icebreaker cruises. In 1955 the population of the archipelago was evacuated for the Soviet nuclear tests. Three test sites were built. "Site A" (used from 1955 to 1962) to the south in Chernaya Bay, "site B" (underground tests from 1964 to 1990) in the Matochkin Strait and "site C" (used from 1957 to 1962) a little north of this strait. It is on “site C” that the explosion of the Tsar Bomba, a 50 megaton bomb took place, it is the strongest nuclear explosion ever.
Of the 2,429 inhabitants, 1,972 live in the capital. The natives Nenets are around 100, they still live today from hunting and fishing.
Cities
- 1 Belushya Guba – Capital of the district, the city has nearly 2000 inhabitants, the majority of the population of the archipelago.
Other destinations
To go
Access to Novaya Zemlya is restricted due to past military activities, a special agreement from the Russian government is required to get there.
- 1 Belushya Guba Airport – There are two flights per week between Arkhangelsk and Belushya Guba.
