Komsomolets Island

Komsomolets Island is the largest island of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located well inside the Arctic Circle. It lies at approximately 80.6°N and is notable for its remote polar environment.

The island offers extensive polar ice and glacial landscapes rather than developed visitor facilities; travel there is primarily undertaken for scientific research and expedition-style Arctic voyages. Sea ice and glaciers dominate much of the terrain, and there are no permanent civilian settlements.

Soviet Arctic expeditions in the early 20th century charted and named much of Severnaya Zemlya, including Komsomolets Island, and the area has since been the focus of polar research. Administrative control is within Krasnoyarsk Krai and the island has remained largely uninhabited except for temporary scientific stations.

Geographically it sits in the Russian high Arctic, north of the Taymyr Peninsula and surrounded by channels and seas of the Arctic Ocean. The island is remote from major settlements; the nearest permanent communities are many hundreds of kilometres to the south on the Siberian mainland.

• Latitude and access: Sits at about 80.59°N in the high Arctic; seasonal access is limited and normally possible only with ice-capable research vessels or specialized polar aircraft.