Diomedes Islands
| Diomedes Islands | ||
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| Waters | Bering Strait | |
| Geographical location | 65 ° 47 ′ N , 169 ° 1 ′ W | |
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| Number of islands | 2 | |
| Main island | Ratmanov Island | |
| Total land area | 36 km² | |
| Residents | 115 (2010) | |
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The Diomedes Islands ( Russian Острова Диомида / Ostrowa Diomida , also called Gwosdew Islands ) are a group of islands in the Bering Strait . It consists of the western Ratmanov Island (or Big Diomede Island, Big Diomede , belonging to Russia ) and the Little Diomede Island to the east ( Little Diomede , belonging to the USA ). In addition to the American-Russian state border, the international date line also runs between the two islands . Both islands are around four kilometers apart. Occasionally, the uninhabited fairway rocks (USA), about 15 km southeast of the Little Diomedes Island, are also part of the archipelago.
geography
The islands are located in the middle of the Bering Strait, about halfway between Cape Deschnjow and the north-western tip of Alaska at 65 ° 46 ' north latitude . The coasts of the islands are very rugged, with rocks sloping steeply towards the sea. The plateaus in the interior of the islands are relatively flat.
The Ratmanov Island, which belongs to Russia (in the language of the indigenous people Imaqliq - "the one surrounded by water") has an area of 29 km². A Soviet military base was built here during the Cold War . The eastern tip of the Russian-controlled island is also the easternmost point of Russia.
The Small Diomedes Island belonging to the US state of Alaska (in the language of the indigenous people Ialiq - "the opposite one") has an area of about 7 km² and is inhabited by 115 people (as of 2010) - mainly indigenous inhabitants of the Iñupiat or Ingalikmiut . The main town on the island is Diomede .
The time difference between the two islands is 21 hours; H. if on the Russian island Monday is 12 o'clock ( UTC + 12 ), on the American Sunday it is 3 pm ( UTC − 9 ).
- Views
Diomedes Islands (left: Small Diomedes Island)
Ratmanov south coast,
in the background Small Diomedes Island
Russian border post on the Ratmanov north coast
Small Diomedes Island from the west
Diomede (Iŋaliq), Iñupiat settlement on the Little Diomedes Island
Diomede (Iŋaliq)
Iñupiat settlement of Iŋaliq on the Little Diomedes Island
Fairway rock island as seen from Ratmanov island
history
The islands were first discovered by a European explorer on August 16, jul. / August 27, 1728 greg. by Vitus Bering , who named it after Diomedes of Tarsus , an early Christian martyr venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church , on whose feast day the discovery took place. The actual exploration did not take place until 1732 by the Russian researcher Michail Spiridonowitsch Gwosdew .
On August 7, 1987, the American Lynne Cox swam through the narrow point between the small and large Diomedes Island to set an example for peace.
literature
- Carol Zane Jolles: Diomede Islands . In: Mark Nuttall (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Arctic . tape 1 . Routledge, New York / London 2005, ISBN 1-57958-436-5 , pp. 494 f . (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Diomede City, Alaska. Community facts. In: American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau , accessed May 14, 2017 (in English, type diomede in the search box ).
- ↑ August 16: Orthodox. In: Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints . Joachim Schäfer, accessed on May 14, 2017 .
- ^ Bering Strait Swim From the US to USSR
- ↑ Sarah Levy: "Oh my god, that's liquid ice!" Interview with extreme swimmer Lynne Cox. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE . August 7, 2012, accessed May 14, 2017 .