- Kolyuchin Island
Kolyuchin Island or Koliuchin Island ( _ru. Остров Колючин) is a small island in the
Chukchi Sea . It is not far from the coast, being only 11 Km away from the northern shore of theChukotka Peninsula . Its latitude is 67° 28' N and its longitude 174° 37' E.This island is only 4.5 Km in length and its maximum width is 1.5 Km. It is covered with tundra vegetation and there is a small Chukchi settlement on the southern end of the island called Koliuchino.
On the nearby shore there is the settlement of Nutepel'men, located north of the Rypatynonel'gyn Lagoon and south of the Pyngopil'gyn Lagoon. The
Kolyuchinskaya Bay further south has been named after Kolyuchin Island. Administratively this island and its surrounding area belongs to theChukotka Autonomous Okrug of theRussian Federation .History
In September 1933 Soviet ice-breaker "Cheliuskin" got crushed by pack ice near Kolyuchin Island. The passengers and crew were rescued by air in a dramatic and much publicised operation which made heroes of
Captain Vladimir Voronin and expedition leaderOtto Schmidt .References
* Armstrong, T., "The Russians in the Arctic", London, 1958.
* Early Soviet Exploration: [http://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/history/history_soviet.html]
* History of Russian Arctic Exploration: [http://www.tour-land.ru/extr/north_p/eng/hist_ark.shtml]
* Pictures of animals in Kolyuchin Island: [http://www.geophoto.ru/?action=search&sgeo=7560]ee also
*
Chukchi Sea
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