Wrangel Island

Wrangel Island
Native name: Остров Врангеля (Russian); Умӄиԓир (Chukot);
	Wrangel Island in October 2018
	Location of Wrangel Island
Geography
Location	Near Chukchi Sea
Coordinates	71°14′N 179°25′W / 71.233°N 179.417°W
Area	7,600 km2 (2,900 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,096 m (3596 ft)
Highest point	Soviet Mountain
Administration
	Russia
Federal District	Far Eastern
Autonomous Okrug	Chukotka
Demographics
Population	0
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve
Type	Natural
Criteria	ix, x
Designated	2004 (28th session)
Reference no.	1023rev
Region	Asia

Wrangel Island (Russian: О́стров Вра́нгеля, romanized: Ostrov Vrangelya, IPA: [ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə]; Chukot: Умӄиԓир, romanized: Umqiḷir, IPA: [umqiɬir], lit. 'island of polar bears')^[1] is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 92nd largest island in the world and roughly the size of Crete. Located in the Arctic Ocean between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea, the island lies astride the 180th meridian. The International Date Line is therefore displaced eastwards at this latitude to keep the island, as well as the Chukchi Peninsula on the Russian mainland, on the same day as the rest of Russia. The closest land to Wrangel Island is the tiny and rocky Herald Island located 60 kilometres (32 nmi) to the east.^[2] Its straddling the 180th meridian makes its north shore at that point both the northeasternmost and northwesternmost point of land in the world by strict longitude; using the International Date Line instead those respective points become Herald Island and Alaska's Cape Lisburne.

Most of Wrangel Island, with the adjacent Herald Island, is a federally protected nature sanctuary administered by Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In 1976, Wrangel Island and all of its surrounding waters were classified as a "zapovednik" (a "strict nature reserve") and, as such, receive the highest level of protection, excluding virtually all human activity other than conservation research and scientific purposes. In 1999, the Chukotka Regional government extended the protected marine area to 24 nmi (44 km) offshore. As of 2003, there were four rangers who reside on the island year-round, while a core group of about 12 scientists conduct research during the summer months. Wrangel Island was home to the last surviving population of woolly mammoths, with radiocarbon dating suggesting the species persisted on the island until around 4,000 years ago.

The natural complex of the Wrangel Island Reserve has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2004.

^ Леонтьев, Владилен Вячеславович; Новикова, Клавдия Александровна (1989). Меновщиков, Георгий Алексеевич (ed.). Топономический словарь Северо-Востока СССР (in Russian). Magadan: Магаданское книжное издательство. pp. 108, 384. ISBN 5-7581-0044-7.
^ Kosko, M.K., M.P. Cecile, J.C. Harrison, V.G. Ganelin, N.V., Khandoshko, and B.G. Lopatin, 1993, Geology of Wrangel Island, Between Chukchi and East Siberian Seas, Northeastern Russia. Bulletin 461, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa Ontario, 101 pp.

[1] Леонтьев, Владилен Вячеславович; Новикова, Клавдия Александровна (1989). Меновщиков, Георгий Алексеевич (ed.). Топономический словарь Северо-Востока СССР (in Russian). Magadan: Магаданское книжное издательство. pp. 108, 384. ISBN 5-7581-0044-7.

[kosko1-2] Kosko, M.K., M.P. Cecile, J.C. Harrison, V.G. Ganelin, N.V., Khandoshko, and B.G. Lopatin, 1993, Geology of Wrangel Island, Between Chukchi and East Siberian Seas, Northeastern Russia. Bulletin 461, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa Ontario, 101 pp.

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