Cape Zhelaniya
Cape Zhelaniya Мыс Желания | |
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Coordinates: 76°57′16.08″N 68°34′54.41″E / 76.9544667°N 68.5817806°E | |
Location | Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia |
Offshore water bodies | Barents Sea / Kara Sea |
Area | |
• Total | Russian Far North |
Cape Zhelaniya (Russian: Мыс Желания, Mys Zhelaniya; желание being Russian for 'wish/desire') is a headland in the Russian Federation. It is an important geographical landmark. The area in the vicinity of the cape is a desolate place, exposed to bitter Arctic winters. The cape along with the surrounding part of Novaya Zemlya is protected as part of Russian Arctic National Park.[1]
Geography
[edit]Cape Zhelaniya is located at the northern end of Severny Island, the northern island of Novaya Zemlya. This headland is a geographic point of reference to mark the separation between the northern ends of the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea.[2]
It belongs administratively to the Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation.
History
[edit]The cape was named by Dutch explorer William Barents in 1595 as Den Hoeck der Begeerte, which means "Cape Desire".[3][4]
There was a Soviet Arctic station in Cape Zhelaniya in World War II which was shelled by the Kriegsmarine during Operation Wunderland.[5]
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. It functioned as a weather station until 1994, and since 2005 there has been an automatic meteorological station located here.[6][7]
Climate
[edit]Climate data for Cape Zhelaniya (1981-2010 normals) (Climate ID:20353) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 1.1 (34.0) | 1.5 (34.7) | 3.6 (38.5) | 8.3 (46.9) | 11.1 (52.0) | 14.4 (57.9) | 19.0 (66.2) | 16.0 (60.8) | 18.7 (65.7) | 14.0 (57.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | 1.2 (34.2) | 19.0 (66.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −17.0 (1.4) | −17.4 (0.7) | −15.9 (3.4) | −13.6 (7.5) | −5.5 (22.1) | 0.7 (33.3) | 3.8 (38.8) | 3.8 (38.8) | 1.6 (34.9) | −4.5 (23.9) | −11.3 (11.7) | −16.7 (1.9) | −7.7 (18.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −20.7 (−5.3) | −20.9 (−5.6) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −16.9 (1.6) | −7.8 (18.0) | −0.9 (30.4) | 2.0 (35.6) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.1 (32.2) | −6.5 (20.3) | −13.9 (7.0) | −19.6 (−3.3) | −10.2 (13.7) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −24 (−11) | −24.2 (−11.6) | −22.7 (−8.9) | −20.1 (−4.2) | −10.0 (14.0) | −2.5 (27.5) | 0.3 (32.5) | 0.6 (33.1) | −1.3 (29.7) | −8.5 (16.7) | −16.5 (2.3) | −22.5 (−8.5) | −12.6 (9.3) |
Record low °C (°F) | −40 (−40) | −40 (−40) | −39 (−38) | −39 (−38) | −31.1 (−24.0) | −18.9 (−2.0) | −5.4 (22.3) | −7.2 (19.0) | −10.6 (12.9) | −29.5 (−21.1) | −35 (−31) | −39 (−38) | −40 (−40) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 9.7 (0.38) | 11.3 (0.44) | 16.0 (0.63) | 7.9 (0.31) | 17.5 (0.69) | 16.0 (0.63) | 23.3 (0.92) | 27.9 (1.10) | 25.6 (1.01) | 21.3 (0.84) | 14.2 (0.56) | 16.0 (0.63) | 206.7 (8.14) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 12.6 | 11.8 | 13.8 | 11.3 | 18.9 | 15.8 | 15.6 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 21.1 | 15.6 | 11.7 | 187.6 |
Source: Météo Climat[8][9] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Territories - Russian Arctic National Park". Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "Mys Zhelaniya". Mapcarta. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Temminck Groll, C.L.; Alphen; et al. (2002). Dutch overseas. Waanders. p. 40.
Den Hoeck der begeerte ('Corner of Envy')
- ^ Bulletin universel des sciences et de l'industrie (in French). Imprimerie de Fain. 1830. p. 169.
nommée par Barens Hoeck der Begeerte (cap du Désir)
- ^ Soviet polar explorers repel Nazi naval attack
- ^ "Climatic data". Archived from the original on 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Weather station Archived 2006-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Moyennes 1981-2010 Russie" (in French). Météo Climat. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Météo Climat stats for Mys Zhelaniya". Météo Climat. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
Literature
[edit]- F. Romanenko, O. Shilovtseva, Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration.
- History of the Northern Sea Route
- Geology