Native name: Остров Галля (Russian) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Etymology | Charles Francis Hall |
| Geography | |
| Location | Arctic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 80°21′23″N57°43′52″E / 80.35639°N 57.73111°E /80.35639; 57.73111 (Hall Island) |
| Archipelago | Franz Josef Land |
| Adjacent to | |
| Area | 1,049 km2 (405 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 314th |
| Coastline | 174.7 km (108.55 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 502 m (1647 ft) |
| Highest point | Kupol Moskvy |
| Administration | |
Russia | |
| Federal subject | Arkhangelsk Oblast |
| Administrative district | Primorsky District |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (2025) |
Hall Island (Russian:Остров Галля; Ostrov Gallya) is an island of the Russian Arctic archipelago ofFranz Josef Land.
Hall Island was discovered on 30 August 1873, by theAustro-Hungarian North Pole expedition,[1] and named after American Arctic explorerCharles Francis Hall. It was the first island of theFranz Josef group that the expedition discovered and, after the smaller Wilczeck Island, the first major island on which they set foot.[2]
A small camp was built at Cape Tegetthoff in 1898 by theWalter Wellman expedition. It contains a marker commemorating the discovery of thearchipelago. Cape Tegetthoff was named after the main ship of the Austro-Hungarian explorers, which had been named in honor of Austrian admiralWilhelm von Tegetthoff.[3][4]
Hall Island is almost completely covered byglaciers. Its highest point is 502 m (1,647 ft) and it is the summit of the Kupol Moskvyice dome that covers the central part of the island. Besides the ice dome there is a glacier with its terminus in the southern shore, theSonklar Glacier.[5]
The only relatively large areas free of permanent ice are located at its southern end, where there are two headlands: Cape Tegetthoff, and also Cape Ozyornyy, on Littrov Peninsula. There is also a very small unglaciated area around its eastern cape, Mys Frankfurt, and another at its northwestern point, Cape Wiggins. Hall Island's area is 1,049 km2 (405 sq mi) and it is one of the largest islands in the group. There is a wide bay on the southeastern side of Hall Island known as Hydrographer Bay and a smaller one west of the Littrov Peninsula called Bukhta Surovaya.
Hall Island is located very close to the eastern shores ofMcClintock Island, separated from it by a narrow sound. To the southeast there is a wider strait separating Hall Island fromSalm Island, known in Russian as Proliv Lavrova. The strait to the east is the largeAustrian Strait.
Additionally, in August 2019, a geographic expedition by theRussian Northern Fleet to Franz Josef Land andNovaya Zemlya discovered a new island, previously thought to be a peninsula of Hall Island.[7]