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Native name: остров Комсомолец | |
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  Komsomolets  Komsomolets | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Krasnoyarsk Krai,Russia |
| Coordinates | 80°29′03″N94°59′47″E / 80.48417°N 94.99639°E /80.48417; 94.99639 |
| Archipelago | Severnaya Zemlya, Russia |
| Area | 9,006 km2 (3,477 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 935 m (3068 ft) |
| Administration | |
Russia | |
Komsomolets Island (Russian:остров Комсомолец) is the northernmostisland of theSevernaya Zemlya group in theRussianArctic, and the third largest island in the group. It is the82nd largest island on earth. About 65% of the island is covered with glaciers, including Russia's largest, theAcademy of Sciences Glacier.
Komsomolets Island is separated fromOctober Revolution Island in the south by theRed Army Strait and fromPioneer Island in the southwest by theYuny Strait.[1] The northernmost point of the island is theArctic Cape, the launching point for many Arctic expeditions.
Practically the whole of the central and southern part of the island is covered by the massiveAcademy of Sciences Glacier, betweenKrenkel Bay in the east andZhuravlev Bay in the west.[2] The northern part is largelyunglaciated. The area of this island has been estimated at 9,006 km2. It rises to a height of 780 m.[3]
The soil of the island is mostly composed of looseloam andsands, a tundra desert scattered with mosses and lichens.[4]
The island was discovered byBoris Vilkitsky in 1913, but it was not proven to be an island until 1931, whenGeorgy Ushakov andNikolay Urvantsev charted the archipelago during their 1930–32 expedition.[5] They also named it. In keeping with their tradition of naming the islands after events and movements of theRussian Revolution, this island was named in honour of the members of theKomsomol, the "Communist Union of Youth."
Media related toKomsomolets Island at Wikimedia Commons80°29′03″N94°59′47″E / 80.48417°N 94.99639°E /80.48417; 94.99639
