Taymyr Peninsula
The Taymyr Peninsula (Russian: Полуостров Таймыр, Таймырский полуостров) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. It lies between the Yenisei Gulf of the Kara Sea and the Khatanga Gulf of the Laptev Sea in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.
Lake Taymyr and the Byrranga Mountains are located within the vast Taymyr Peninsula.
The peninsula is the site of the last known naturally occurring muskox outside of North America, which died out about 2,000 years ago.[1] They were successfully reintroduced in 1975.[2] The population grew to 2,500 animals in 2002 increasing to 6,500 in 2010.[3]
Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent, is located at the northern end of the Taymyr Peninsula.
Population
The Nenets people, also known as Samoyeds, are an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia, and some live at the Taymyr Peninsula.
The Nganasan people are an indigenous Samoyedic people inhabiting the Taymyr Peninsula in central Siberia. In the Russian Federation, they are recognized as being one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North. They reside primarily in the settlements of Ust-Avam, Volachanka, and Novaya in the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, with smaller populations residing in the towns of Dudinka and Norilsk as well.[4] The isolated location of the Nganasan people enabled them to maintain shamanistic practices even in the 20th century.[5]
Economy
MMC Norilsk Nickel conducts mining operations in the area. The company conducts smelting operations in the area of the city of Norilsk, near the peninsula. The nickel ore concentrate and other products of the company are transported over a short railroad to the port city of Dudinka on the Yenisei River, and from there by boat to Murmansk and other ports.
Climate
The coasts of the Taymyr Peninsula are frozen most of the year, between September and June on average. The summer season is short, especially on the shores of the Laptev Sea in the northeast. The climate in the interior of the peninsula is continental. Winters are harsh, with frequent blizzards and extremely low temperatures. The following data taken from Cape Chelyuskin provides an indication of the weather experienced on the northern tip of the peninsula.
| Climate data for Cape Chelyuskin | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −26 (−15) |
−26 (−15) |
−24 (−11) |
−16 (3) |
−8 (18) |
1 (34) |
5 (41) |
4 (39) |
0 (32) |
−10 (14) |
−19 (−2) |
−22 (−8) |
−11.7 (10.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −33 (−27) |
−33 (−27) |
−33 (−27) |
−26 (−15) |
−15 (5) |
−5 (23) |
−3 (27) |
−3 (27) |
−5 (23) |
−16 (3) |
−26 (−15) |
−30 (−22) |
−19 (−2.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 8 (0.31) |
9 (0.35) |
9 (0.35) |
8 (0.31) |
9 (0.35) |
18 (0.71) |
21 (0.83) |
22 (0.87) |
22 (0.87) |
15 (0.59) |
9 (0.35) |
11 (0.43) |
201 (7.91) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 162 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 0 | 0 | 124 | 270 | 217 | 150 | 186 | 124 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,133 |
| Source: World Climate Guide[6] | |||||||||||||
See also
- Siberia
-
Russia portal -
Geography portal
References
- ↑ Science Daily
- ↑ Safari Club Foundation Recordbook entry on Bovids
- ↑ Large Herbivore Network Article: Reintroduction of Musk Ox in the Northern Russia by by Dr. Taras Sipko
- ↑ Ziker
- ↑ Hoppál 2005
- ↑ "Climate Data for Mys Chelyuskin". World climate Guide. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
Bibliography
- Hoppál, Mihály (2005). Sámánok Eurázsiában. (in Hungarian). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 9630582953. (The title means “Shamans in Eurasia”, the book is written in Hungarian, but it is published also in German, Estonian and Finnish: Site of publisher with short description on the book (in Hungarian).)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taymyr Peninsula. |
Coordinates: 74°00′N 98°00′E / 74.000°N 98.000°E