 Map of the De Long Islands. | |
 Map showing the location of the group | |
| Geography | |
| Location | East Siberian Sea |
| Coordinates | 76°08′28″N152°43′59″E / 76.141111°N 152.733056°E /76.141111; 152.733056 |
| Archipelago | De Long Islands |
| Total islands | 5 |
| Area | 77 km2 (30 sq mi) |
| Length | 10.8 km (6.71 mi) |
| Width | 8.7 km (5.41 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 123 m (404 ft) |
| Administration | |
Russia | |
| Federal subject | Far Eastern Federal District |
| Republic | Yakutia |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Zhokhov Island (Russian:Остров Жохова,romanized:Ostrov Zhokhova;Yakut:Жохов Aрыыта,romanized: Joqov Arııta) is an island in theEast Siberian Sea, situated 128 km north east ofNovaya Sibir Island, the easternmost of theNew Siberian Islands. Administratively the island belongs to theYakutia administrative division ofRussia.[1]
Zhokhov Island is part of theDe Long group. The nearest island isVilkitsky Island, the southernmost island of the group. Zhokhov is 10.8 km (6.7 mi) in length and has an area of 77 km2 (30 sq mi). The highest point of the island is 123 m (404 ft).
Although the island itself isunglaciated, the sea surrounding Zhokhov Island is covered with fast ice, even during the summer, and the climate is severe.
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Zhokhov Island is aneroded lateCenozoicstratovolcano. Deeply cutseacliffs expose alternating flows of massive and blisterlava,agglomerate andtuff. The exposed throat of this volcano is filled withcolumnar jointedbasalts. The surrounding volcanic edifice consists of interlayeredpicrite–olivine basalts lava flows and beds ofvolcanic ash containing largevolcanic bombs. The basalt lava flows range in age from 1.2 to 10Ma according toK–Ar dating. The basalts containxenoliths ofsandstones,limestones,granites,syenites, anddolerites.[2][3] Rare limestone xenoliths contain middleCarboniferous, tropical, marineinvertebratefossils.[4]
Rush/grass, forb, cryptogam tundra covers the Zhokhov Island. It is tundra consisting mostly of very low-growing grasses, rushes, forbs, mosses, lichens, and liverworts. These plants either mostly or completely cover the surface of the ground. The soils are typically moist, fine-grained, and often hummocky.[5]
Mesolithic humans occupied the island as early as 6000 BCE. Tools of stone, bone, antler, and ivory have been found, as well as wooden arrow shafts and asledge runner. Animal remains suggest a culture dependent on the hunting ofpolar bears andreindeer.[6] Evidence published in 2017 suggests that the early inhabitants of Zhokhov Island were among the first humans to selectively breeddogs. Findings indicate that larger dogs may have been bred for hunting and smaller dogs weighing 16 kilograms (35 lb) to 25 kilograms (55 lb) were bred for pulling sleds.[7] DNA extracted from a 9,500-year-old dog,Zhokhov, named after the island, contributed significant genetic material to theGreenland Dog, theAlaskan Malamute and theSiberian Husky.[8]
In modern times, Zhokhov Island was discovered by the 1910–1915 RussianArctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition underBoris Vilkitsky on the shipsVaygach andTaymyr. It was originally named Novopashenniy Island, afterPiotr Alekseyevich Novopashenniy (1881–1950) Captain of icebreaker Vaygach, but in 1926 it was renamed after LieutenantAlexey Zhokhov, a member of the expedition.[9]
| Climate data for Zhokov Island | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | −7.8 (18.0) | −2.8 (27.0) | −7.8 (18.0) | −3.0 (26.6) | 7.2 (45.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 18.0 (64.4) | 7.5 (45.5) | 11.0 (51.8) | −1.7 (28.9) | −3.2 (26.2) | 18.0 (64.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −25.5 (−13.9) | −26.5 (−15.7) | −24.2 (−11.6) | −17.4 (0.7) | −6.9 (19.6) | −0.1 (31.8) | 2.7 (36.9) | 1.4 (34.5) | −2.6 (27.3) | −11.1 (12.0) | −20.1 (−4.2) | −24.2 (−11.6) | −14.1 (6.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −28.3 (−18.9) | −29.3 (−20.7) | −27.2 (−17.0) | −20.4 (−4.7) | −9.0 (15.8) | −1.5 (29.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | 0.3 (32.5) | −4.3 (24.3) | −13.8 (7.2) | −22.9 (−9.2) | −26.9 (−16.4) | −16.6 (2.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −31.6 (−24.9) | −32.4 (−26.3) | −30.7 (−23.3) | −24.4 (−11.9) | −12.0 (10.4) | −3.3 (26.1) | −0.6 (30.9) | −1.9 (28.6) | −6.6 (20.1) | −17.1 (1.2) | −26.1 (−15.0) | −29.9 (−21.8) | −19.5 (−3.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −46.1 (−51.0) | −48.0 (−54.4) | −45.0 (−49.0) | −38.0 (−36.4) | −26.0 (−14.8) | −15.0 (5.0) | −7.6 (18.3) | −8.9 (16.0) | −23.1 (−9.6) | −33.0 (−27.4) | −38.0 (−36.4) | −43.0 (−45.4) | −48.0 (−54.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 13.6 (0.54) | 12.3 (0.48) | 7.8 (0.31) | 33.6 (1.32) | 20.2 (0.80) | 63.8 (2.51) | 68.2 (2.69) | 114.9 (4.52) | 53.1 (2.09) | 50.1 (1.97) | 31.1 (1.22) | 9.5 (0.37) | 478.2 (18.83) |
| Source:[10] | |||||||||||||
Zhokhov Island is mentioned inStanley Kubrick'sDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb as a place where the Russians built thedoomsday device.[11]
Ostrov Zhokhova is also mentioned in the Soviet "sad comedy" film by Georgii Danelia "Osennii Marafon" (Autumn Marathon). The film's "hero" Andrei Buzykin's daughter and her husband depart to take up a job in the weather station on Zhokhov Island, to Andrei's horror.
