Wrangel Island (chuk. Umkilir - "island of polar bears") — Russian island in the Arctic Ocean between the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas. Named after the 19th century Russian navigator and statesman Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel.

This is a very harsh area. The average temperature of a short summer here is about 0 degrees, and in winter it is truly unbearable. weather- a strong wind from the north is so dry that it's hard to even breathe. The polar night, which lasts from November to the end of January, is unbearably cold. The temperature falls on average below -20, and sometimes even up to -60! Snowstorms that hit the island reach speeds of 140 km/h. On the coast, it is very difficult to hide from such an onslaught from the north, and only in the central part of the island, surrounded by mountain ranges, you can count on more favorable conditions.

The island is very interesting for archaeologists who have discovered here the remains of mammoths that lived about 3-7 thousand years ago. As you know, it was believed that by this time all mammoths had already died out, but the find confirms that these prehistoric animals existed side by side with already practically intelligent people.

Wrangel Island: photo

Umkilir - Polar Bear Deposit Island

Where is Wrangel Island located?

It is located at the junction of the western and eastern hemispheres and is divided by the 180th meridian into two almost equal parts. It is separated from the mainland (northern coast of Chukotka) by the Long Strait, with a width of about 140 km in the narrowest part. Administratively, it belongs to the Iultinsky district of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

It is part of the reserve of the same name. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2004).

How to Get to Wrangel Island

Today, Wrangel Island is one of the most inaccessible nature reserves in the world. To visit it, several special government permits are required, and getting here is not easy: in winter you have to fly by helicopter, and in summer you have to sail on an icebreaker.

In July-August, from Anadyr you can make a 15-day cruise to Wrangel Island (with disembarkation and 3-day accommodation on the island itself). The cruise is performed by a small comfortable cruise icebreaker.

Wrangel Island: video

Journey on Wrangel Island

Wrangel Island is a deserted place surrounded by many legends. If you find it on the map, you can understand why people do not live there. It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, almost all year round there is winter. The island is constantly being researched.

Wrangel Island appeared on the map in the 18th century. It was designated by I. Lvov, a Russian researcher. Then, already on the polar map, the island was plotted by M. Lomonosov, who gave it the name “Doubtful. The existence of these lands became known to Russian sailors according to the stories of the Eskimos. F. Wrangel tried to find him, organized search expeditions, but he failed to do this.

The discoverer is the one who first set foot on a new land. This man was Eduard Dallmann, a merchant from Germany. This event took place in the 19th century. But Dallmann was not a navigator, he did not see any interest in giving the island a name. He had an exclusively business interest in the island - he was connected by trade relations with the locals.

The second person to land on the island was whaler T. Long. He was interested in research, navigators. Long knew a lot about Ferdinand Wrangel and that Wrangel was looking for these lands. It was T. Long who gave the island a name in honor of the Russian explorer.

For the next 14 years, these lands belonged to no one. Then the Americans landed here, who were looking for the missing expedition. This search was led by Captain Hooper. It was he who proclaimed the island New Columbia and planted the flag of America there.

In 1911, an expedition from Russia arrived on the island. The crew of the icebreaker planted the Russian flag here. Since then, this land has been Russian. For a long time there were conflicts between Russia and the United States over the island.

Today the island is a nature reserve and is included in the list world heritage. Its area is about 7670 km2. This is a watershed of 2 water areas of the ocean. And also it is the border between two seas, as mentioned above. Among other things, the island is the junction between the two hemispheres of the planet. The land here is divided in half by the 180th meridian.

This meridian is called the international date line. The island is separated from Chukotka by a strait. Its length is 140 km. Today there are no inhabitants left on the island. The last person who lived there permanently died in 2003.. Now only polar explorers who conduct various scientific research live there.

Getting to the island is very difficult. In the summer, you can get here only by icebreaker. And in winter, the only transport that will allow you to visit these places is a helicopter. You can get to the island only with an expedition. There are organizations that give tourists such an opportunity. The path to the island starts from the airport of Anadyr.

Island exploration

Wrangel Island, officially marked on the map in the 18th century, attracted the attention of many expeditions. In 1913, a Canadian group of researchers, led by anthropologist V. Stefanson, set off to explore Herschel Island on a ship called the Karluk. But, before reaching the place of some 300 km, the ship was trapped in the ice and drifted.

Several people from the team, including the expedition leader, went hunting, but they could not return to the ship due to drifting ice. The group had to go to Cape Barrow. The crew members remaining on board decided to go to Wrangel Island. The sailors were divided into 3 groups.

The first group, consisting of 4 people, commanded by Bjarne Mamen, landed on Herald Island by mistake. They all died there. Presumably the cause was either carbon monoxide poisoning or food poisoning. The second group (also of 4 sailors) went missing on the way to their cherished goal. And only the remaining members of the team managed to get to Wrangel Island.

In the summer of 1914, Russian icebreakers tried to break through to the sailors, but they failed. Soon 3 members of the team died from the cold and eating spoiled food. In September 1914, the survivors were taken from the island. In 1988, traces of the camp of the failed Canadian expedition were found. In its place was a sign of memory.

In 1921, V. Stefanson organized an expedition to Wrangel Island. His goal was to colonize the island. To get support, the explorer tried to get official status for his expedition from the Canadian government.

In September 1921, a team of colonists assembled by Stefansson landed on the island. They planted the flags of Canada and Britain, and declared the land to belong to the King of Great Britain. As a result, a political conflict broke out between Canada and the United States. America was outraged by the capture of the island. The US government believed that these lands belonged to the United States.

The colonists who were on the island could not return home for a long time because of the ice. Three polar explorers from the group assembled by Stefansson disappeared without a trace. One died of scurvy. An Eskimo woman who served as a cook managed to survive.

At this time, Russia declared its rights. L. Krasin demanded an explanation from the King of Britain about the illegal installation of his flags. Krasin said that the island was Russian possession and asked that raids from Canada stop in the future, and that the sovereignty of these lands not be violated.

Distinctive features

Wrangel Island is an arctic tundra where there is no population. The people who once lived here have left the island. And those who remained were already dead. Only employees of the reserve, polar explorers, meteorologists and the military temporarily live here. They work on a rotational basis. On the map of the island, you can only find the station, there are no residential buildings here. There are 6 people at the station.

The climate here is harsh. From mid-May to last numbers July is a polar day. From mid-November to the end of January - polar night.

Winter on the island is long and cold. The temperature can stay below -30 ° C for several weeks in a row. Often there are blizzards. The wind speed can be over 40 m/s. In summer, the temperature is not higher than +3 ° C, humidity is 83%, snowfalls are not uncommon. In the center of the island, the air warms up better, so the humidity there is slightly lower and the temperature is somewhat higher.

The terrain on the island is mountainous. There are lakes. The mountains form several ridges, between which there are many rivers (5 large and 140 small rivers and streams). There are approximately 900 lakes. All of them are shallow, on average no deeper than 2 m.

The vegetation in these places is rich. There are more than 300 of its species. Many of them are ancient and rare. All plants in these protected areas are undersized. Grasses and mosses predominate. There are willows in the mountains, the height of which is not more than 1 m. Due to the harsh climate, Wrangel Island cannot boast of a rich fauna. There are few animals here.

They live here:

• walruses;
• arctic foxes;
• lemmings;
• musk oxen;
• seals;
• wolverines and others.

Here you can see about 20 species of birds:

• sparrows;
• snow bunting;
• black goose;
• puffers;
• tap dancers;
• fork-tailed gulls;
• red-throated loons and others.

Often guests of the reserve are representatives of other species of birds that fly here for a while.

What to watch

Wrangel Island (this is noticeable on the map) is significantly removed from the mainland. The climate here is harsh. It is for these reasons that few tourists sail there. But every year there are tourist groups on the island. Guests move on ATVs and all-terrain vehicles.

Island attractions:

• lagoon "Treacherous";
• mountain "Perkantun";
• bay "Krasina";
• lagoon "Davydova";
• bay "Doubtful";
• "Damn's Ravine";
• river "Predators";
• lagoon "Popova".

Peculiarities:

Tourism

Wrangel Island on the map looks like it's the "end of the world." And this is true - it is located on the "edge of the universe" - in the Arctic Ocean and is the most inaccessible of all reserves on our planet. It is because of this location that it is very difficult to get to the island. For this reason, tourism is underdeveloped here. But you can still visit here.

Ecological and educational tourism is developing here. The best time for a trip to Wrangel Island - from May to the end of July. At this time, it is a polar day here, it is always light, snow is rare, and there is no frost. To visit this reserve, you must obtain a permit.

Several routes have been developed for tourists:

Tour name, route number	Route length	Accommodation and meals	Ways of transportation
№1	35 km	Short-term rest and meals at the Doubtful base.	ATVs, ATVs, on foot
№2	21 km	Short-term rest, meals and lodging for the night in the premises at the "Doubtful" base or at the field cordon.	quad bikes, all-terrain vehicles
№3	100 km (3 days)	Accommodation and meals at the base "Doubtful" on the 1st night, overnight at the cordon "Tundrovy Peak" on the 2nd night. Short-term rest at the cordon "Middle Mammoth".	all-terrain vehicles
№4	160 km (3 days)	Rest, meals and lodging for the night on the cordons: "Doubtful", "Medium", "Red Flag", "Tundrovy Peak". A short rest with a tea party at the cordon "Unknown".	quad bikes, all-terrain vehicles
№5	350 km (5 days)	Overnight stays, meals and short-term rest at the Doubtful base, at the Unexpected cordon, at the Komsomol cordon and at Tundrovy Peak. Short-term rest and tea drinking at the cordons: "Lower Goose" and "Middle Mammoth".	all-terrain vehicles
№6	250 km (5 days)	Overnight stays, rest and meals at the base "Doubtful" and at the cordons "Tundrovy Peak" and "Unexpected". It is possible to organize short rest with tea.	all-terrain vehicles
№7	550 km (9-10 days)	Accommodation, meals and rest in the ghost village "Ushakovsky", at the "Tundrovy Peak" cordon, at the "Doubtful" base, at the "Komsomol" and "Unexpected" cordons. Tea drinking and rest at the cordon "Middle Unknown".	all-terrain vehicles
№8	up to 50 km	Rest at the base "Doubtful".	zodiacs
№9	620 km	Rest, meals and overnight stays cruise ship.	cruise ship

Route number 1

Tourists go to explore the island from the guest house at the Doubtful base. Then the group follows the shore of the Krasina Bay, where they get acquainted with the features of the landscape. The path continues to the creek "Devil's ravine", where tourists can see the excavations of the Paleo-Eskimo site.

Further, the guests of the island are waiting for the ascent to the plateau in the canyon, where the largest river on the island flows, which is called "Mammoth". After that, the guests will descend to the old road, which lay next to the "date line". Then, through the canyon of the Chertov Ovrag stream, the group again gets to the Krasina Bay, where you can see ice, if any.

Depending on the season, tourists will also be able to see animals at a safe distance:

• lemmings;
• polar bears;
• gray whales;
• arctic foxes;
• musk oxen;
• seals.

Wrangel Island is filled with different animals, such as seals.

After that, the group returns back to the base from where the journey began. Tourists overcome part of the way on ATVs or all-terrain vehicles. The group passes the canyon and plateau on foot.

Guests are driven along this route from July to September. Excursion groups are accepted no more than 2 per month. Each group can have a maximum of 15 people.

Route No. 1 is considered easy, so visitors of all age categories, including school-age children, are allowed on it.

Route number 2

Tour groups explore the island along this path from July 20 to October 1. A maximum of 6 groups are accepted per month for route No. 2. The maximum number of each group is 6 people. Tourist group goes on a hike around Wrangel Island from the Doubtful base.

Further, guests follow the beach and through the lagoon "Basic". If the river in the lagoon is open, then the path of tourists lies around the lagoon. Further, the path continues through the airfield and the stream with the name "Basic". On the shore of the "Doubtful" bay, tourists inspect the ruins left from the hunters' camp.

Then the travelers go to the “Doubtful” spit and from there they return to the base from which their journey began. This route is also considered easy, so tourists of all age categories, including school-age children, are allowed on it.

Route number 3

On it, the group sets off from the Doubtful base and completes the journey at the Tundrovy Peak cordon. Specialists of the reserve accept groups wishing to follow this route from August 1 to September 1.

On this route, guests of the island will visit the Khrustalny stream, explore the surroundings of the Doubtful base, and explore Mount Pyrkatkun. And also the route includes several cordons, the Tumanny stream, the Bear River. Guests make stops where they observe representatives of the animal world, view landscapes and plants.

They have the opportunity to visit abandoned mines where rock crystal was mined, to admire the Northern Mountains. During the journey, you can find bones or tusks of a mammoth. The route is difficult. It is designed for guests who are prepared for arctic conditions.

Route number 4

This trip is calculated for 3 days. Excursions along this route lead from August 1 to October 1. The group moves from the Doubtful base. Further, the path runs through the pass with the name "Vyuchny". The guests move to the mountain "Perkatkun", then to the creek "Crystal". It is planned to visit the river "Otrozhnaya", the river "Unknown".

The program includes several streams, passes. Guests get acquainted with the landscape, flora and fauna of the island. The route will be of interest to those who love birds, as well as schoolchildren. Tourists who go on a trip must be physically strong and hardy.

Route number 5

Journeys along it are made in August and in the first half of September. The point of departure of the tourist group is the Doubtful base. On the way, the guests will see the Krasina Bay, visit the Mamontovaya River, the Devil's Ovrag Creek. And also on the river "Gusinaya", the stream "Kamnesharka", cape "Bird's Bazaar". The route involves visiting the mountain "Drem-Head".

On the route there is an inspection of plants, acquaintance with animals and birds. The guests are visiting the Paleo-Eskimo camp, the old adit and the landscape of the island's sights. Stopover locations may change depending on the weather. The trip is intended for tourists over 14 years of age with good physical fitness.

Route number 6

It includes visiting and viewing:

• creek "Crane";
• the river "Tundra";
• creek "Crystal";
• the Gusinaya river;
• stream "Perkatkun";
• the river "Soviet";
• slopes of the "Vorotskie Sopki";
• "date lines";
• Mountains "Kit";
• Cape "Bird Market" and so on.

The route operates from August 1 to September 15. Tourists at least 14 years old, prepared for the conditions of the Arctic, are allowed on it.

Route number 7

A tourist group travels along it for 9-10 days. Excursions from tourists wishing to travel along route No. 7 are accepted on the island in late summer and early autumn. There can be no more than 6 guests in a group.

Tourists manage to see a huge number of sights in 10 days, observe animals and plants. There is an age restriction on the route - tourists under 14 years old are not accepted on a trip along it. In addition, guests must be physically prepared.

Route number 8

This is an easy route that involves boat travel. It is valid from mid-July to the end of September. The guests depart from the Doubtful base and explore the waters of the Krasina Bay by boat. The tour is open to tourists of all ages.

Route number 9

It is called the "Ring Route". The guests travel around Wrangel Island and swim up to Herald Island. The tour group travels on a cruise ship. The season of the route is from mid-August to the end of September. The route is suitable for tourists of all ages, there are no restrictions.

What is prohibited for tourists, duties and rules

Visitors to Wrangel Island arriving for tourism purposes are subject to a number of requirements that they must comply with.

Guests are prohibited from:

Each tourist must:

• move around the reserve only when accompanied by an employee who provides guests with security and monitors their compliance with the rules of stay on the island;
• approach birds and animals only with the permission of the inspector, and keep from them at a distance that he determines;
• move on an all-terrain vehicle or quad bike on the island at a speed of no more than 20 km / h;
• stop approaching birds and animals at the slightest sign of their anxiety;
• if there is a bird brood close to the road, reduce the speed to 7 km/h and proceed further without stopping;
• stop near the cubs of animals and birds for no longer than 15 minutes;
• get out of the transport only in those places that the guide will determine for disembarkation;
• immediately get into the boat and leave the shore by order of the guide, in case a polar bear is approaching the group;
• consider the lead boat in which the specialist of the reserve is located, and strictly follow the algorithm of movement and behavior of the lead boat.

Observing all these rules, the tourist will provide himself, as well as those around him, with an interesting and safe stay on Wrangel Island. Wrangel Island looks intimidating only on the map. In fact, it is very interesting place. Every moment of your stay here will forever remain in the memory of any tourist. Everyone who once visited the island is drawn to come back here again.

Article formatting: Lozinsky Oleg

Video about Wrangel Island

Wrangel Island, nature, features, overview of the island:

Today we will talk about the land of Wrangel. This island is very interesting. It was unsuccessfully searched for by a Russian traveler, but was discovered by a British and a German. Then the deserted island became an "apple of discord" between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. This land is surrounded by legends. There is even an opinion that one of the colonies of the sinister Gulag was located here. But even without repressive camps, this land was deadly for a person. Not one polar explorer died here. And today the island continues to amaze scientists with new sensational discoveries. How did the island form, what is the relief, climate, animal and vegetable world- read this article.

Wrangel Island on the map

This is a fairly large piece of land. Its area is approximately seven and a half thousand square kilometers, and most of it is occupied by mountains. The island itself is located in the Arctic Ocean. Even in simple geographical location Wrangel's land is already hiding its uniqueness. It is a watershed between two large areas of the ocean, a natural boundary between the Chukchi and East Siberian seas. And on Wrangel Island there is a junction between the Eastern and Western hemispheres of our planet. The 180th meridian, the so-called "date line", divides the land into almost equal parts. At least 140 kilometers of water separate from the northern coast - the Long Strait. Since 1976, this land has been declared a nature reserve. The last permanent resident died in 2003. Since then, only polar explorers have lived here. Administratively, the island belongs to the district (Iultinsky district).

Discovery history

We can say with certainty that the Wrangel land was the first to be discovered by the Paleo-Eskimos. As archaeological excavations carried out in the ravine called Chertov prove, people stopped here for camps three and a half thousand years ago. The Russian pioneers were told about the existence of the distant land of Umkilir (“the island of polar bears”) of the Chukchi. But two hundred years passed before the foot of a European set foot on a deserted and unkind shore. For a long time, the island was considered just a beautiful Chukchi legend. In 1820-1824, the Russian navigator and statesman Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel unsuccessfully searched for him. In 1849, British explorer and traveler Henry Kellett observed two pieces of land in the Chukchi Sea through a telescope. The discoverer named them after himself and his ship Herald. This is how Kellett Land and Herald Island (later Wrangel Island) appeared on the world map. But this is not all the adventures of our part of the land surrounded by the sea.

Why the discovery was named after Wrangel

The island was considered unknown to Europeans (the opinion of the Chukchi about Umkilir was not taken into account). The right of the discoverer belonged to the one who not only saw the distant shore with the help of a telescope, but stepped on it with his foot. It was the German merchant Eduard Dallmann, who carried out merchant operations with the inhabitants of Chukotka and Alaska. But he was far from thinking of somehow calling the lands he visited. A year later, in 1867, American whaler Thomas Long landed on the island. By vocation, this brave man was a researcher, he knew a lot about the search for F. P. Wrangel. Therefore, he named the island he discovered in his honor. The territory was a no man's land for about 14 years. In 1881, an American ship approached the Harold and Wrangel Islands. It was looking for members of De Long's polar expedition, which went missing to conquer the North Pole in 1879 on the Jeanette ship. Captain Calvin Hooper landed part of the crew on the island. While the sailors were looking for traces of the missing, the captain hoisted the US flag on the shore. He named the island New Columbia.

Formation of the archipelago

Until the 20th century, the governments of Russia and the United States were little interested in who owns the two patches of land lost in the Arctic Ocean. This attitude was facilitated by their "distant" geographical coordinates. Wrangel Island, for example, is the westernmost island in a small archipelago, located between 70° and 71° north latitude. The length along the meridian at this place is simply unique: from 179 ° W. up to 177 ° in. e. The archipelago is located very close not only to North America but also from Asia. This is all that remains of the once existing bridge between the two continents, when the Bering Strait had not yet separated them. Thus, these are islands of mainland origin. That is why they are also called Beringia. This area was spared by ice ages, and during global warming, the islands did not go under water. This circumstance has preserved an amazing flora and fauna on the land of Wrangel.

polar apple of discord

With the advent of the twentieth century, and at the same time the century of industry, both applicants claimed their rights to the archipelago. After all, it doesn’t matter where Wrangel Island is located, whether someone lives there and whether it is possible to spend economic activity. The borders of adjacent states are shifted to the east or west, respectively, if someone takes possession of the archipelago. In the autumn of 1911, a Russian hydrographic expedition aboard the Vaigach ship landed on Wrangel Island and hoisted the Russian flag on it. And in the summer of 1913, the Canadian brigantine Karluk was caught in ice and forced to drift towards the Bering Strait. Part of the team landed on Herald Island, and the other - a large party - on Wrangel. Two members of this expedition reached mainland(Alaska), but the rescue expedition came to those in distress only in September 1914.

Development of the archipelago

In 1921, the Canadians decided to "stake out" the archipelago in the Chukchi Sea. After all, this gave the state the opportunity to fish and whaling off their coasts. But the first settlers, consisting of four polar explorers and one Eskimo woman, did not survive the winter (only Ada Blackjack survived). Then the Canadians in 1923 formed a second colony. The geologist C. Wells and twelve Eskimos, among them women and children, came to Wrangel Island. Since professional hunters were engaged in the extraction of food, the colonists successfully survived the winter. But the government of the USSR sent the Krasny Oktyabr icebreaker equipped with guns to the shores of the island. His team forcibly took the settlers on board and took them to Vladivostok, from where they later extradited them to their homeland. As a result of this trip, two children died.

Wrangel Island is ours!

How did he finally become "domestic"? Although the Wrangel Islands appeared on the map of Russia, the government did not calm down until Russian colonists established themselves there. In 1926, a polar station was founded, led by researcher G. Ya. Ushakov. Together with him, another 59 Chukchi from the villages of Chaplino and Providence settled. In 1928, the Ukrainian journalist Nikolai Trublaini came there on the icebreaker Litke. He repeatedly described Wrangel Island and its harsh beauty in his books (in particular, “The Way to the Arctic through the Tropics”). Collective farms were supposed to be everywhere in the Land of Soviets, and the Far North was no exception. In 1948, a reindeer-breeding collective farm was founded - for this purpose, a small herd was brought from the mainland. And in the 70s, musk oxen were introduced from Nunivak Island. Although evil tongues claim that one of the Gulag camps was based on the archipelago, this is not true. The settlements of Ushakovskoye, Perkatkun, Zvezdny and the village. Cape Schmidt was inhabited either by polar explorers or by Chukchi tribes.

reserved land

Back in 1953, the authorities decided to protect walruses and their rookeries on two islands in the Chukchi Sea. Seven years later, the Regional Executive Committee of Magadan, by its resolution, created a reserve on Wrangel Island. Later (1968) he was upgraded in status. But the Soviet government did not stop there either. The reserve of state importance in 1976 was transformed into nature reserve"Wrangel Islands". The zone is still protected in accordance with the decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR under No. 189 of March 23, 1976. The plural in the name of the reserve is not a typo. Got under protection and neighboring island Herald, as well as about 1,430,000 hectares of water area. Ironically, the crisis of the late 1990s greatly contributed to the conservation of nature. Most of the inhabitants were taken to the mainland, since there were no means to supply them with fuel and food. The last inhabitant of Vasilina Alpaun was killed by a polar bear in 2003. And in 2004, both islands were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Relief

A map of Wrangel Island shows that this piece of land is quite mountainous. Three almost parallel chains - the Northern, Middle and Southern ridges - are cut off by coastal cliffs. highest point- Mount Sovetskaya - reaches 1096 meters above sea level. It is located almost in the center of the island. The low Northern Range passes into a swampy plain called the Tundra of the Academy. The low-lying shores of the island are dissected by lagoons. There are many lakes and rivers here. But there are no fish in them. Due to the harsh climate, these reservoirs freeze through in winter. However, global warming is noticeable here as well. In recent years, shoals of pink salmon began to actively enter the mouths of the rivers for spawning. The rugged terrain and polar location created a number of non-melting glaciers on the island.

The climate of Wrangel Island

The polar night here comes in the second decade of November, and the long-awaited sun is shown at the end of January. The luminary does not set beyond the horizon from mid-May to the third decade of July. But even the fact that the sun constantly illuminates Wrangel Island does not add warmth to the local summer. The temperature even in July does not exceed +3 °C. Frequent snowfalls, drizzle and fog. Only in the abnormally hot summer of 2007 did the thermometer jump up to +14.8 °C (in August). Winters are very frosty, with frequent snowstorms. February and March are especially fierce. The temperature during this period does not rise above -30 ° C for many weeks. Cold air masses from the Arctic carry little moisture with them. But in the summer from the northern part Pacific Ocean damp winds blow.

Flora

B. N. Gorodkov, who in 1938 studied the vegetation cover on east coast Wrangel land, the island was mistakenly attributed to the zone. Further study of the flora led scientists to the idea that its territory lies in the polar tundra belt. And to be very precise, the classification is as follows: the Wrangel subprovince of the Western American zone of the Arctic tundra. The flora is distinguished by its ancient species composition. Three percent of the plants are subendemic. These are poppy Gorodkov, beskilnitsa, Wrangel's ostrich and others. At present, it has been revealed that Wrangel Island has no equal in the polar zone in terms of the number of endemics. In addition to these plants, which are found only here and nowhere else in the world, more than a hundred rare species grow in the reserve.

Fauna

Severe climatic conditions do not favor a special species diversity. There are absolutely no amphibians, reptiles and freshwater fish on the island. But Wrangel Island, a photo of which is unlikely to be complete without a white bear in the foreground, holds the record for the density of these animals. Judge for yourself: on an area of ​​​​about seven and a half thousand square kilometers, four hundred she-bears coexist. And that's not counting males and cubs! This justifies the Chukchi name of the island - Umkilir. Moreover, the population of this animal is increasing year by year. The polar bear is the main owner of the island. In addition to it, there are introduced reindeer and musk ox. In summer, bumblebees, butterflies, mosquitoes and flies are blown in from the mainland. The world of birds has about 40 species on the island. Of the rodents, Vinogradov's lemming is endemic. In addition to bears, there are other predators: polar fox, wolf, fox, wolverine, ermine. The local walrus rookery is the largest in Russia.

Unique discovery

In the mid-1990s, the Wrangel Island Reserve found itself on the front pages of scientific journals. And all because the remains of mammoths were discovered here by paleontologists. But it was not the discovery itself that was important, but its age. It turned out that on the island these elephants, overgrown with thick hair, lived and were healthy three and a half thousand years ago. But it is known that mammoths became extinct more than ten thousand years ago. What happens? When Greece was the heyday of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization, and in Egypt reigned on Wrangel Island, a living mammoth walked around! True, the local subspecies was also distinguished by its small stature - the size of a modern African elephant.

Wrangel Island is the northernmost nature protection complex in Russia. Its name comes from the name of the famous domestic conqueror of the seas Ferdinand Wrangel, although locals the island itself is called Umkilir - "Land of Polar Bears".

It is also considered one of the largest reserves and fits in an area of ​​2.2 million hectares. At the same time, the marine area occupies half of the territory, but only 800 thousand hectares belong to the protected zone. Wrangel Island owns a couple big islands in the Chukchi Sea - Herald and Wrangel. They are located in the east of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The decree establishing the state reserve was promulgated in 1976.

Peculiarities

Initially, the reserve was created to study the ecosystems of the island regions of the Arctic. In addition, this complex was aimed at preserving rare animal and plant species, among which there are many endemics. So, a year before the announcement of this zone as a protected area, a musk ox was acclimatized on it. The modern buffer zone was formalized in 1983, and at sea - in 1999. In 2012, the last change took place, associated with an increase in the coastal protected area.

The main part of the reserve is a mountainous landscape with elements of the arctic tundra. There are over a hundred small rivers and streams on the island, as well as about 1000 small lakes. A windy and frosty climate reigns on the islands, which partially complicates the work of scientists and hinders the tourist opportunities of the reserve.

It is characteristic that the reserve "Wrangel Island" was the first nature protection zone in the USSR, where it was allowed to carry out fishing activities among the indigenous population. Some of the island's lands are of value to archaeologists. Here, not only the remains of ancient mammoths were found, but also the remains of the life of a caveman.

The limited excursion program on the island is travel on ATVs and all-terrain vehicles. Tourists visit the "Doubtful Bay", Devil's ravine, Mount Percantum.

The wealth of flora on the island

The flora of the reserve is unique in terms of the number of endemics. In total, about 500 plant species have been registered on these lands, which is many times more than the standard indicators of the Arctic tundra. Among the interesting endemic species, it is worth highlighting several types of poppy, cinquefoil, arthropod, and succulent. Scientists also count 300 species of mosses and lichens in this area. The main part of the mountains is occupied by grass, shrub and lichen cover. You can find swampy areas, and in the southern latitudes of the island - forest plantations. The tops of the mountains are stone mounds.

Animal world of the reserve

Because of the harsh climatic conditions the fauna of the nature protection complex is significantly limited. There are no representatives of amphibians and reptiles in the special zone at all. The fish lives only along the coast. The key advantage of the reserve is a large number of birds, not excluding marine and constantly building nests on the island. Of interest to researchers are the white goose, black geese, eiders, waders. The sea shores are distinguished by such an interesting phenomenon as bird colonies consisting of cormorants, kittiwakes and guillemots.

Speaking of mammals, it should be noted that there are many lemmings, deer, ermines, arctic foxes and wolverines. However, the polar bear is rightfully considered the most famous inhabitant of Wrangel Island. Here the maximum number of his ancestral dens is arranged.

For a long time, scientists have also been monitoring reindeer and musk oxen, which were brought to this territory and acclimatized for a long time.

The coast of the reserve is a walrus rookery, and in the water area itself you can meet beluga whales and gray whales.

Posted on 03/24/2019 12:14 pm, which washes the northern coast of Russia, is located a large number of archipelagos and islands, all of them, due to the harsh climate, are not inhabited by humans, although scientific stations operate on them and border military units are located for protection. In the northern expanses in the waters East Siberian Sea located Wrangel Island, the Chukchi Sea is also nearby, it should be noted that this territory is covered with a snow cap all year round, with the exception of some land areas. Only in summer period time, when the polar day comes, meager nature comes to life arctic desert and birds come to produce offspring. Nearly eight months of the year Wrangel Islands bound by ice and ice hummocks.

Pages of the history of the discovery of Wrangel Island.

Geographic discovery in the Arctic Wrangel Islands happened only in 1820, the expedition F.P. Wrangel made a study coast of Chukotka and mapping of the area. Wrangel and his colleagues marked on the map big Island, although they tried to visit it, using dog sleds for movement, having reached the ice. They entered geographic data from the place where the Kolyma River flows into the sea up to the Kolyuchinskaya Bay. and indeed visible from Cape Yakan in the summertime, the hypothetically existing land was found and marked on the maps, with an island with mountains in the center. The geometry of the island is 155 kilometers long and 76 kilometers wide.

Researchers led by Wrangel tried several times to achieve Wrangel Islands. But each time they were blocked by ice hummocks, sometimes unfrozen sections of the sea - polynyas, and sometimes it happened that they found themselves on a detached ice floe that drifted across the sea, but by a happy coincidence, the ice floes converged, and travelers could return to the mainland. Attempts were accompanied by 150-200 km transitions on the ice of the frozen sea.

It was a very risky event, especially in the spring time, the ice cracked and melted under the influence of the approaching heat, huge ice fields. Collapsing, they rose almost perpendicular to the surface of the water and went under the water with a crash and a terrible noise, the waves furiously beat on them, but after a while they surfaced, carrying silt and sand back. The raging elements in such conditions leave no chance to survive. So get in Wrangel and his companions on this island did not succeed.

Wrangel was not given allocations for the next expeditions, and the American Captain Long in 1867, on a whaling ship called the Nile, he approached the shores Wrangel Islands, in his honor then named the strait separating the mainland from the island. Ten years later, another American Captain Hooper first landed on Wrangel Island, his ship "Corvina" managed to anchor off the coast of the island.

Only in times Soviet Union from 1933 to Wrangel Island a polar station appeared, which is still operating today. Polar explorers made a complete geographical outline of the map of the island, studied the nature of the island for a long time.

Protected area.

Currently Wrangel Island is a protected area protected by the state, its location in a unique Arctic zone makes it really interesting to study the nature of these northern latitudes. For any person who got here, the atmosphere of these places will make a strong impression, it depends on the mood with a plus sign or a minus sign. Nature lives here for two months a year, in July and August the rest of the time winter dominates here, and from November to the end of January the sun does not appear over the horizon, the only light at this time is the light of the moon and aurora borealis, attacked by the earth's magnetic field, by cosmic particles drifting in space.

Phenomenon northern lights does not leave the sky in the polar night for weeks, playing with iridescence always with different directions, not repetitive and beautiful in its own way. You can watch this phenomenon for hours, it is like watching an interesting movie on TV, overflows throughout the entire color spectrum here throughout the entire aurora, bizarre dances and a change in the position of light rays, here nature shows its creativity from an unexpected angle.

Weather on Wrangel Island.

In spring and autumn, powerful winds and hurricanes come to this territory, from which there is no escape, because the wind speed on average exceeds 100 kilometers per hour (almost 30 meters per second). Wind gusts can be 160 kilometers per hour (45 meters per second), and this is in a scorching frost with high humidity. These winds blow away all the snow cover from the mountains located on Wrangel Island, blown snow falls into valleys and gorges, the depth of snowdrifts there reaches 30 meters, naturally, in a short period of summer, this mass does not have time to melt.

In the short summer Wrangel Island around the clock, the star does not leave the horizon, this happens for almost two months from May to July, during this period the nature of the island is transformed. Rivers and streams begin to flow from the slopes and valleys towards the sea, mosses and lichens acquire different colors, grass breaks through in open areas, there are no trees here, and bushes more than fifteen centimeters from the ground are not understood here, thereby saving oneself from strong winds and bitter cold. Meteorologists considered that average temperature on an annualized basis Wrangel Island almost minus twelve degrees. But on summer days in the valleys on the island, closed from the winds, the air warms up to fifteen degrees Celsius, and since the sun shines very brightly and you can get badly burned while outdoors. In the rivers and lakes located on the island, in winter, complete freezing occurs to the very bottom, so there are no fish in them. The only thing that gives life and food in the winter time on the island is the sea, so all animals mostly live closer to the coast, where you can find food.

Walruses on Wrangel Island.

On Wrangel Island arranged their rookery walruses, which are rightfully considered the largest animals in the Arctic, the size of adult males in length reaches 4.5 meters, and the weight sometimes exceeds 2 tons, even polar bears avoid such large walruses. The main weapon of walruses, his tusks, he defends himself with them and uses them to extract food from the bottom, furrowing the bottom with a tusk, he raises silt and mollusks, which are part of his nutritious diet. Number of walruses per Wrangel Island is now over 10,000 individuals. It is especially interesting to observe the rookery during the mating season, when males fight among themselves for the right to mate with the female. An American researcher who first saw a walrus compared it to a devil-like creature. But this is an erroneous point of view, the walrus is rather good-natured, the expression of his muzzle with big eyes and even bigger mustaches, except for tenderness, does not cause negative sensations. These creatures are dangerous if you get close to them, and he feels threatened, his eyes become bloodshot, and he begins to emit menacing cries. Although its movement on land is limited, at a short distance the walrus can gore even a large white bear that has decided to make the walrus its prey. Therefore, you need to admire walruses from a safe distance, without giving him a reason to feel a possible danger to himself.

The body color of the walrus has a brown-brown color, on the rookery they are close to each other. If it is necessary to move an individual to or from the sea, serious fights periodically arise for space, both for lying and for movement. Sometimes all this mass falls into a sleep and silence is established over the rookery, broken only by the wind and the oncoming waves on the shore. Cubs are not as calm as adults, they are constantly on the move, making their way to the sea, they crawl over the carcasses of lying walruses, and sometimes get flippers for disturbing adults. Walrus cubs are splashing in shallow water, on Wrangel Island and they and their parent are calm, the protected area guarantees that they will not be hunted here, and a large number of mollusks on the bottom near the island provide them with food.

Of course, the walrus looks very menacing and ferocious, its size inspires respect, but they are very sensitive to human activity, mechanical noises unbalance them and they can permanently retreat from their places of permanent rookery, only because of the regular extraneous sounds emitted by human equipment. They have very sensitive hearing, in which the entire nervous system is exposed, which is why they are so sensitive to the interference of outsiders in their habitat, as happened. on the shores of Chukotka and Kuril Islands where their population has declined greatly. There is a known case when an inexperienced pilot flew too low over a rookery on an airplane, and the frightened walruses rushed into the sea, a crush arose and a dozen individuals were crushed by their relatives, after which the walruses sailed away from this place forever.

Birds flying north.

On ice floes near the coast Wrangel Islands there are many seals, ringed seals and sea hares; they fish for their own food in the sea. On rocky shores Wrangel Islands Numerous bird markets are formed, more than three hundred thousand birds annually fly to the shores of the island. Of the birds here you can meet:

• Kairu
• cormorant
• kitty gull
• Skua
• Burgomaster

And many other species that fly to the island in the summer to breed, this is embedded in their genetic memory, from the time when the climate in these places corresponded Central Russia.

Nature produces amazing birds and animals, one of which is the pink gull, it is considered rare. Its peculiarity is that it arrives for the winter to the Arctic, and lives in non-freezing polynyas, feeding on small fish and plankton, and flies away during the summer and nesting seasons. at the mouth of the rivers of Yakutia where it produces its offspring. It has a futuristic appearance, its body is white and pink, it has a dark red stripe around its neck, and it uses Wrangel Island as a transit base when flying. On the Wrangel Island the only one in Russia inhabited by wild white geese, which at one time were mercilessly exterminated by the hundreds because of their meat and down and feathers.

The king of the Arctic is the polar bear.

But the main host Wrangel Islands, however, like throughout the Arctic – polar bear . Individuals reach 700 kilograms of live weight, are not afraid of frost and cold water, swim very well, have no rivals in this territory except for humans, the only animal that can fight them back is a large adult walrus weighing two tons, their bears are avoided so as not to be impaled on a tusk. Mostly bears drift on ice floes, hunt seals and fish. Bears burdened with offspring come to Wrangel Island by November and settle down in a den, where they give birth to their offspring, informally Wrangel Island so they call it: a maternity hospital for polar bears. In April, mother bears with cubs leave their dens, and the process of learning how to hunt and orientate the cubs begins.

New life of a musk ox on Wrangel Island.

In the second half of the 20th century, American researchers brought here a herd of musk oxen, who once lived here with mammoths and other animals, finding food in the valleys of the island, the population of these animals remained only in Greenland. But zoologists were able to relocate them to the American continent, now these animals feel great on Wrangel Island, their population here has increased to almost a hundred individuals, and is constantly growing. The musk ox has no opponents here, the island is a protected area, there are no hunters, and the bears do not dare to attack the herd. Now zoologists are preparing part of the herd to be transported to new habitats, to New Siberian Islands and to Chukotka, however, there are many wolves that can destroy the livestock of musk oxen. But brought to mainland musk oxen showed good organization when defending against attacks on a herd of wolves, adults stood in a circle, sheltering females and cubs from wolves. And they themselves frantically repelled the attacks of fanged predators, as a result of a three-day confrontation, the pack retreated, having suffered losses, two wolves were crushed and two were seriously injured by musk ox tusks, not a single musk ox was injured.

In addition to musk oxen, a large reindeer herd lives on the island, which formed there in the 50s of the 20th century, after reindeer were brought with the expedition for use as a traction force, but some went deep into the island. Since the limiter of the deer population in the form of a wolf on Wrangel Island no, they have bred and are often seen grazing in the valleys.

Autumn coast Wrangel Islands it becomes empty, birds fly south, pregnant bears hide in dens, and other bears go to ice floes, and musk oxen and deer move inland and winter there. Only snowy owls and polar crows winter on the coast, the latter have chosen the vicinity of the military and research settlement of polar explorers, and owls feed on rodents.

Rodents - Lemmings.

Lemmings unique rodents, they can find food for themselves even in deep snow, they produce offspring throughout the year, so their population is constantly changing, if the summer was fruitful and the number increased significantly, a strange phenomenon occurs, most of them rush into the sea and swims until it sinks. Researchers are not yet able to explain this behavior of small furry rodents. Predators such circumstances only at hand. The next year, the rodent population returns to normal and the number of predators hunting lemmings also decreases.

The mountainous spurs of the island can be considered inaccessible, on Wrangel Island there are three mountain systems stretching from west to east, and in summer the water flowing down the rivers forms many rapids and waterfalls, indescribable beauty, they must be seen. The most big river on Wrangel Island - the Vodopadnaya River in its valley herds of musk oxen and deer love to live. But summer in the Arctic fleetingly, the coming winter covers the earth with snow, everyone who can leaves the island, fly south or goes to seek food in the ice. located on the 80th parallel, north only North Pole and deceased continent Arctida, which left only genetic records in the cells of living organisms, it is not without reason that birds fly to breed in northern latitudes, although, guided by logic, it is easier and safer for them to do this in southern countries. But such is nature, and the living populations of deer and musk oxen testify to life as a source of movement, and the Arctic not such a lifeless land, here life crystallizes to a new level, giving its fruits every year.