Severnaya Zemlya - Main Islands - Komsomolets

Komsomolets

Komsomolets Island (Russian: остров Комсомолец) is the northernmost island of the Severnaya Zemlya group in the Russian Arctic, and the third largest island in the group. It is the 82nd largest island on earth.

The northernmost point of the island is called the Arctic Cape. This is the launching point for many Arctic expeditions.

The area of this island has been estimated at 9,006 km2 (3,477 sq mi). It rises to a height of 780 m (2,559 ft). Some 65% of the island is covered with glaciers. The soil is mostly composed of loose loam and sand. Komsomolets Island is home to the largest ice cap in Russia, the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap. Komsomolets island is largely covered by the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap – an 819 m (2,687 ft) thick ice dome reaching 749 m (2,457 ft) above sea level and covering 5,575 km2 (2,153 sq mi) of the island.

The soil of the island is mostly composed of loose loam and sand, a tundra desert scattered with mosses and lichens. The island was first explored and named by the expedition of Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev in 1930 – 32. In keeping with their scheme of naming the islands after events and movements of the Russian Revolution, this island was named in honour of the members of the Komsomol, the "Communist Union of Youth".

Off the NW shores of Komsomolets Island lies a group of islets known as Ostrova Dem'yana Bednogo .