Cape Zhelaniya

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Map showing the location of Cape Zhelaniya.
Map showing the location of Cape Zhelaniya.

Cape Zhelaniya (Russian: Мыс Желания, or Mys Zhelaniya), located at 76.70368° N 69.06793° E, is the easternmost point of Europe. It lies at the northern end of Severny Island, in Novaya Zemlya, Russia. The whole area is a desolate place, exposed to bitter Arctic winters.

Cape Zhelaniya is an important geographical landmark. There was a Soviet Arctic station there in WW2 which was shelled by the Kriegsmarine during Operation Wunderland. It became a secret experimental station during the Cold War while a multitude of nuclear tests, including 88 atmospheric ones, were conducted in Novaya Zemlya. Nowadays it still functions as a weather station.

This cape is also used as geographic point of reference to mark the separation between the northern ends of the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea.

[edit] References

  • F. Romanenko, O. Shilovtseva, Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration.
  • Weather Station: [1]
  • History of the Northern Sea Route: [2]
  • Geology: [3]
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