Heiss Island

Franz Josef Land
Russian: Остров Хейса

Location of Heiss Island in the Franz Josef Archipelago
Geography
Location Arctic Ocean
Coordinates 80°27′N 58°03′E / 80.450°N 58.050°ECoordinates: 80°27′N 58°03′E / 80.450°N 58.050°E
Archipelago Franz Josef Land
Area 132 km2 (51 sq mi)
Highest point 242 metres (794 ft)
Country

Heiss Island (Russian: Остров Хейса; Ostrov Kheysa) is an island in Franz Josef Land, Russia. It is located in the central area of the archipelago, north of Hall Island, between Champ Island and Wilczek Land. Its area is 132 km².

Heiss island is almost unglacierized, having only a small ice-cap off its centre by its northern shore. Highest point 242 m.

The strait to the south of Heiss Island is known as Proliv Markama, which narrows down to only 5 km at this point. On the east lies a strait known as Proliv Austrisky, beyond which lie the smaller Komsomol Islands. 7 km wide Proliv Yermak in the north, separates Heiss Island from the Zichy Land subgroup of the Franz Josef Archipelago.

The cape on the southwestern shore of Heiss island is called Mys Ostantsovyy.

History

Kheysa, a now abandoned Soviet rocket launching site, was located on this island.

Now Heiss Island is home to the Krenkel hydrometeorological station (80°37′ N, 58°03′ E).

This island (including the Komsomol Islands) was originally named after veteran Arctic explorer Isaac Hayes, who undertook a historical Polar expedition in 1850. The island's name in English should have been Hayes Island, but German cartographers Germanized its name after transliterating from the Russian and the corrupted name "Heiss" (meaning "hot" in German) has stuck.

Adjacent islands

Climate

Climate data for Heiss Island
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 1.9
(35.4)		 0.0
(32)		 1.6
(34.9)		 0.7
(33.3)		 2.6
(36.7)		 8.0
(46.4)		 10.3
(50.5)		 8.4
(47.1)		 5.6
(42.1)		 3.8
(38.8)		 1.3
(34.3)		 1.7
(35.1)		 10.3
(50.5)
Average high °C (°F) −19.4
(−2.9)		 −19.8
(−3.6)		 −19.7
(−3.5)		 −15.9
(3.4)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 0.0
(32)		 1.9
(35.4)		 1.3
(34.3)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 −8.3
(17.1)		 −14.0
(6.8)		 −19.0
(−2.2)		 −10.1
(13.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −22.7
(−8.9)		 −23.1
(−9.6)		 −23.0
(−9.4)		 −18.8
(−1.8)		 −8.8
(16.2)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 0.7
(33.3)		 0.1
(32.2)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 −10.3
(13.5)		 −17.0
(1.4)		 −22.1
(−7.8)		 −12.4
(9.7)
Average low °C (°F) −26.0
(−14.8)		 −26.4
(−15.5)		 −26.7
(−16.1)		 −21.8
(−7.2)		 −10.9
(12.4)		 −2.8
(27)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 −4.1
(24.6)		 −12.6
(9.3)		 −20.0
(−4)		 −25.2
(−13.4)		 −14.8
(5.4)
Record low °C (°F) −42.1
(−43.8)		 −44.4
(−47.9)		 −43.5
(−46.3)		 −39.6
(−39.3)		 −27.7
(−17.9)		 −12.3
(9.9)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −8.5
(16.7)		 −23.2
(−9.8)		 −32.3
(−26.1)		 −39.5
(−39.1)		 −41.5
(−42.7)		 −44.4
(−47.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 30
(1.18)		 28
(1.1)		 19
(0.75)		 16
(0.63)		 12
(0.47)		 10
(0.39)		 17
(0.67)		 21
(0.83)		 25
(0.98)		 21
(0.83)		 21
(0.83)		 18
(0.71)		 238
(9.37)
Avg. rainy days 0 0 0 0.1 1 3 12 11 7 1 0.1 0 35
Avg. snowy days 20 20 19 16 23 17 11 13 22 24 21 19 225
Average relative humidity (%) 83 82 80 81 85 88 91 92 90 86 84 83 85
Mean monthly sunshine hours 0.0 0.0 70.6 250.9 230.3 189.5 162.9 96.6 34.4 5.8 0.0 0.0 1,040.9
Source #1: Pogoda.ru.net[1]
Source #2: Weatherbase (sun only)[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Weather and Climate-The Climate of Hayes Island" (in Russian). Weather and Climate. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Zemlya Vil'cheka, Russia". Weatherbase. Retrieved November 12, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heiss Island.