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. Administratively it is part of the Krasnoyarsk Krai Federal subject of Russia.

Taymyr Peninsula
Полуостров Таймыр
Location of the Taymyr Peninsula.
Geography
LocationFar North
Coordinates74°00′N 98°00′E
Adjacent bodies of water
Area400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi)
Length1,050 km (652 mi)
Width520 km (323 mi)
Highest elevation1,125 m (3,691 ft)
Highest pointByrranga Mountains
Administration
Federal subjectKrasnoyarsk Krai

Geography

The Taymyr Peninsula lies between the Yenisei Gulf of the Kara Sea and the Khatanga Gulf of the Laptev Sea.

Lake Taymyr and the Byrranga Mountains are located within the vast Taymyr Peninsula.

Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of the Afro-Eurasian continent, is located at the northern end of the Taymyr Peninsula.

Population
Indigenous Nenets people of Taymyr

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 central Siberia, including the Taymyr Peninsula. 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.[1] The isolated location of the Nganasan people enabled them to maintain shamanistic practices even in the 20th century.[2]

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.

Ecology
  • Cape Chelyuskin, northernmost point of Russian and of Afro-Eurasian mainland; 77°43’22’’N, 104°15’13’’E
  • Taymyr landscape
  • Muskox, an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, successfully reintroduced to the Taymyr Peninsula region in 1975

The peninsula is the site of the last known naturally occurring muskox outside of North America, which died out about 2,000 years ago.[3] They were successfully reintroduced in 1975.[4] The population grew to 2,500 animals in 2002 increasing to 6,500 in 2010.[5]

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 for Cape Chelyuskin provides an indication of the weather experienced in the northern part 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)		 −12
(11)
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)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 8
(0.3)		 9
(0.4)		 9
(0.4)		 8
(0.3)		 9
(0.4)		 18
(0.7)		 21
(0.8)		 22
(0.9)		 22
(0.9)		 15
(0.6)		 9
(0.4)		 11
(0.4)		 201
(7.9)
Average 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
  • Magnetic North Pole

References
  1. Ziker
  2. Hoppál 2005
  3. BioMed Central (6 October 2005). "Muskox Suffered Loss Of Genetic Diversity At Pleistocene/Holocene Transition" – via Science Daily.
  4. "Greenland Muskox". Bovids. Safari Club International. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  5. Dr. Taras Sipko. "Reintroduction of Musk Ox in the Northern Russia". Large Herbivore Network. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05.
  6. "Climate Data for Mys Chelyuskin". World climate Guide. Retrieved April 1, 2012.

Bibliography
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