The Faddey Islands (Russian: Острова Фаддея; Ostrova Faddeya) is a group of islands in the

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Geography

The Faddey Islands group is located in the coastal region, off

Faddey Bay The Faddey Bay (Залив Фаддея; ''Zaliv Faddeya'') is a gulf in the Laptev Sea on the eastern coast of the Taymyr Peninsula. It measures about 47 km from its innermost point in the southwest, the delta of the Pregradnaya River, to it ...

(залив Фаддея) in the coast of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

, east of the

Taymyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrat ...

. The Main islands are: * Ostrov Faddeyya-Severnyy, coordinates . * Ostrov Faddeyya-Vostochnyy, coordinates . * Ostrov Faddeyya-Yuzhnyy, coordinates . * Ostrov Kapitanskiy, a smaller island, located off the main cluster and closer to the shore, . The islands are covered with

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

vegetation, shingle and ice. The sea around these Islands is covered with fast ice in the winter and the climate is severe. The surrounding sea is obstructed by pack ice even in the summer. The Faddey Islands were named after Russian explorer

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen (russian: Фадде́й Фадде́евич Беллинсга́узен, translit=Faddéy Faddéevich Bellinsgáuzen; – ) was a Russian naval officer, cartographer and explorer, who ultimatel ...

, which is "Faddey Faddeyevich Bellinsgauzen" in Russian. This island group belongs to the

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...

administrative division of

History

Ancient stone implements, probably shaped by man, were found on the Faddey Islands and were studied by the Russian archaeologist A.P. Okladnikov, an expert in the ancient cultures of Siberia and the Pacific Basin. In 1940-41 Soviet hydrographers found the remains of people, money, weapons and other items on these islands and in the nearby coast of the

Simsa Bay The Simsa Bay or Bay of Sims (russian: Залив Симса; ''Zaliv Simsa'') is a gulf in the Laptev Sea on the coast of the Taymyr Peninsula. Geography The bay measures about 40 km from the mouth of the Gol'tsovaya River in the west to it ...

. Apparently these were traces of an expedition undertaken by Akaky and Ivan Muromets in the early 17th century. A.P.Okladnikov, who studied these findings in 1945, supposed that the people went there from the west, from the Yenisei River (Historical monument…, 1945). However, in the 1980s hydrographer V.A.Troitsky put forward a different theory. According to his point of view the deceased seafarers tried to sail by sea from the Khatanga Gulf to the mouth of the

Yenisei The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...

on two ships in order to load furs (Troitsky, 1991). But the first ship was crushed by ice in the area of the Faddey Islands. Even though the crew were able to reach the land, none of them managed to survive. The second ship reached the Simsa Bay, where the crew built a house in order to leave three ill people there. Then the ship made its way to the south, and four people seem to have been able to reach populated places. Since 1993 these islands are part of the

Great Arctic State Nature Reserve The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve (russian: Большой Арктический государственный природный заповедник) is a nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife san ...

, the largest

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

of Russia.Great Arctic State Nature Reserve

References

* ''

Polar Record ''Polar Record'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of Arctic and Antarctic exploration and research. It is managed by the Scott Polar Research Institute and published by Cambridge University Press. The journal w ...

'', Scott Polar Research Institute. * ''Soviet Geography, Accomplishments and Tasks''. Geograficheskoe obshchestvo SSSR, 1962
Geonames

Geography

History

References

See also