Aion (island)
| Aion | ||
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| Waters | East Siberian Sea | |
| Geographical location | 69 ° 45 ′ N , 168 ° 30 ′ E | |
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| length | 63 km | |
| width | 38 km | |
| surface | 2 000 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 66 m | |
| Residents | 440 (2002) <1 inh / km² |
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| main place | Aion | |
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Aion ( Russian Айон , German also Ajon ) is an island west of the Tschaun Bay of the East Siberian Sea in northeast Siberia ( Russia ).
geography
The area of the island is about 2,000 km²; the east-west extension is about 63 km, the north-south extension about 38 km. It is separated from the mainland in the southwest by the Kleine Tschaunstraße, which is only 2 km wide at its narrowest point . The coast is poorly indented. There are several small islands in front of the island; the largest are Ryjanranot and Tschenkul in the northeast and Mossei (also Janranot ) on Kleine Tschaunstrasse. The surface of the island is a hilly plain; their maximum height above sea level is 66 meters. The island is mainly covered by arctic tundra , a strip several kilometers wide along the northeast coast of barely overgrown sand dunes . There are countless small lakes and rivers, the most important of which is Rywejem ( Рывеем ), which flows north and is up to 50 meters wide . Thermokarst symptoms are common.
flora
Aion is interesting from a botanical point of view, because in the sandy areas of the island, despite the arctic harsh climate (even the mean July temperature is below +5 ° C), steppe-like plant communities are widespread, including species that are endemic or rare for this region, such as Sverdrup- Pointed keel ( Oxytropis sverdrupii ), arctic snowgrass ( Phippsia concinna ) and various mosses and lichens. 13 hectares in the west of the island are protected as a botanical natural monument.
administration
Administratively, the island belongs to the Chaunsky Rajon of the Chukchi Autonomous Okrug . The only settlement today is Aion on the northwest coast. There has also been a weather station there since 1941 . Reindeer herding is practiced by the indigenous people, the Chukchi , on the island .
Individual evidence
- ↑ A. Belikowitsch et al: Растительный мир ООПТ Чукотки (flora of specially protected territories of Chukotka). Vladivostok, 2006. See also Региональные ботанические памятники природы (Russian, with aerial view of the island) ( Memento from December 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )