Severny Island, Arctic island in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia
Severny Island forms the northern half of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and sits entirely within the Arctic Circle between the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. The surface alternates between glaciated highlands in the center and rocky coastlines with deep fjords at the edges.
Pomors visited the island from the 11th century onward for hunting and fishing during the summer months. Soviet military authorities used the territory from the 1950s onward for nuclear weapons testing and evacuated the few Nenets people living there southward.
The name comes from the Russian word for northern and points to the geographic position at the top of the archipelago. Researchers stay in small stations along the coast during the brief Arctic summer and collect data on climate and wildlife.
Travel to this area is possible only with special permits and requires support from Russian authorities or research institutions. Visitors must prepare for months of cold, darkness in winter, and long daylight periods in summer.
Polar bears cross the coastal regions in search of seals and use pack ice fields as hunting platforms. The barren landscape shows colorful lichens on rock outcrops and low moss cushions in sheltered hollows during the brief summer.
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