Cape Zhelaniya
| Cape Zhelaniya | |
|---|---|
| Мыс Желания | |
|
Location of Cape Zhelaniya | |
  | |
| Location |
Arkhangelsk Oblast,  Russia |
| Coordinates | 76°57′16.08″N 68°34′54.41″E / 76.9544667°N 68.5817806°ECoordinates: 76°57′16.08″N 68°34′54.41″E / 76.9544667°N 68.5817806°E |
| Offshore water bodies | Barents Sea / Kara Sea |
| Area | Russian Far North |
Cape Zhelaniya (Russian: Мыс Желания; Mys Zhelaniya; Желание being Russian for 'wish'). is a headland that lies at the northern end of Severny Island, in Novaya Zemlya, Russia. The whole area is a desolate place, exposed to bitter Arctic winters. This cape belongs administratively to the Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation.
History
Cape Zhelaniya is an important geographical landmark. There was a Soviet Arctic station there in World War II which was shelled by the Kriegsmarine during Operation Wunderland.[1]
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.[2][3]
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.
References
Literature
- F. Romanenko, O. Shilovtseva, Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration.
- History of the Northern Sea Route
- Geology