Novaya Zemlya
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Novaya Zemlya

Novaya Zemlya (Russian: Но́вая Земля́, also spelled Novaja Zemlja, lit. New Land; formerly known in English and still in Dutch as Nova Zembla, Norwegian Gåselandet (Goose Land) is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe at Cape Zhelaniya (see also extreme points of Europe). The archipelago is administered by Arkhangelsk Oblast as Novaya Zemlya Island Territory. Its population is 2,716 (2002 census), of which 2,622 reside in Belushya Guba, an urban-type settlement that is the administrative center of Novaya Zemlya District. The indigenous population consists of about 100 Nenetses¹ who subsist mainly on fishing, trapping, polar bear hunting, and seal hunting.²

Novaya Zemlya consists of two major islands, separated by the narrow Matochkin Strait, and a number of smaller ones. The two main islands are Severny (northern) and Yuzhny (southern). Novaya Zemlya separates the Barents Sea from the Kara Sea. The total area is about 90,650 km².

As Novaya Zemlya was a sensitive military area during the Cold War years, the Soviet Air Force maintained a presence at Rogachevo air base on the southern part of the island. It was used primarily for interceptor aircraft operations but also provided logistical support for the nearby nuclear test area.

Geology

Novaya Zemlya is the northern part of the Ural Mountains,³ and the interior is mountainous throughout.⁴ It is separated from the mainland by the Kara Strait.⁴ The mountains reach a height of 1,547 m.⁵ The northern island contains many glaciers, while the southern one has a tundra climate.² Natural resources include copper, lead, and zinc.²

History

Novaya Zemlya Test Site
Map showing location of the site
Type	Nuclear test site
Location	74°N 56°E / 74, 56Coordinates: 74°N 56°E / 74, 56
Area	55,200 km² (land) 36,000 km² (water)
Operator	Russian Federation (formerly Soviet Union)
Status	Active
In use	1955 – present
Testing
Subcritical tests	not known
Nuclear tests	224

Novaya Zemlya's major test site boundaries and facilities

The Russians knew of Novaya Zemlya from the 11th century, when traders from Novgorod visited the area.⁴ For western Europeans, the search for the Northeast passage in the 16th century led to its exploration.⁴ The first visit was by Hugh Willoughby in 1553.⁴ Dutch explorer Willem Barents reached the west coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1594, and in a subsequent expedition of 1596 rounded the northern point and wintered on the north-east coast.⁶ (Barents perished during the expedition, and may have been buried on the northern island.⁷) During a later voyage by Feodor Liitke in 1821–1824, the west coast was mapped.⁴ Henry Hudson was another explorer who passed through Novaya Zemlya while searching for the Northeast Passage.⁸

The island was systematically surveyed by Pyotr Pakhtusov and Avgust Tsivolko in the early 1830s. The first permanent settlement was established in 1870 at Malye Karmakuly, which served as capital of Novaya Zemlya until 1926. Sometime later the administrative center was transferred to Belushya Guba ⁹.

Small numbers of Nenets people were resettled to Novaya Zemlya in the 1870s in a bid by Russia to keep out the Norwegians. This population, then numbering about 1,500, was removed in the 1950s when nuclear testing began.¹⁰¹¹¹²

Nuclear testing

In July 1954, Novaya Zemlya was designated the Novaya Zemlya Test Site, construction of which began in October¹³ and existed during much of the Cold War. "Zone A", Chyornaya Guba (70°42′N 54°36′E / 70.7, 54.6), was used in 1955–1962 and 1972–1975.¹³ "Zone B", Matochkin Shar (73°24′N 54°54′E / 73.4, 54.9), was used for underground tests in 1964–1990.¹³ "Zone C", Sukhoy Nos (73°42′N 54°00′E / 73.7, 54), was used in 1958–1961 and was the 1961 explosion site of Tsar Bomba, a record 50-megaton blast conducted in the atmosphere.¹³

Other tests occurred elsewhere throughout the islands, with an official testing range covering over half of the landmass. In September 1961 two propelled thermonuclear warheads were launched from Vorkuta Sovetsky and Salekhard respectively to target areas on Novaya Zemlya. The launch rocket was subsequently deployed to Cuba¹⁴

1963 saw the implementation of the Limited Test Ban Treaty outlawing most atmospheric nuclear tests.¹⁵ The largest underground test at Novaya Zemlya took place on September 12, 1973, involving four nuclear devices of 4.2 megatons total yield. Although far smaller in blast power than the Tsar Bomba and other atmospheric tests, the confinement of the blasts underground led to pressures rivaling natural earthquakes. In the case of the September 12, 1973, test, a seismic magnitude of 6.97 on the Richter Scale was reached, setting off an 80 million ton avalanche that blocked two glacial streams and created a lake 2 km in length.¹⁵

Over its entire history as a nuclear test site, Novaya Zemlya hosted 224 nuclear detonations with a total explosive energy equivalent to 265 megatons of TNT.¹³ For comparison, all explosives used in World War II, including the detonations of two U.S. nuclear bombs, amounted to only two megatons.¹⁵

In 1988–1989, glasnost helped make the Novaya Zemlya testing activities public knowledge,¹³ and in 1990 Greenpeace activists staged a protest at the site.¹⁶ The last nuclear test explosion was in 1990 (also the last for the entire Soviet Union and Russia). The Ministry for Atomic Energy has performed a series of subcritical hydronuclear experiments near Matochkin Shar each autumn since 1998.¹⁷ These tests reportedly involve up to 100 g of weapons-grade plutonium.¹⁸

See also: Semipalatinsk Test Site

See also

• Extreme points of Europe
• List of islands of Russia
• Novaya Zemlya effect

References

Further reading

• Serebryanny, Leonid (June 1997). "The colonization and peoples of Novaya Zemlya then and now". Nationalities Papers 25 (2): 301–309. 

External links

• Selected satellite views of nuclear test site Novaya Zemlya (global security).
• Environment, climate change, and history of exploration (Barents' wintering).
• [1]
• Nuclear tests in Novaya Zemlya, International Atomic Energy Agency Department of Nuclear Safety and Security.

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