To go around Russia: the most extreme point of the country. Extreme points of Russia

Russia is located in the north of the Eurasian continent, occupying about a third of its territory (31.5%). The extreme northern and eastern points of the continent are also the extreme points of Russia. The country is located in two parts of the world and occupies the eastern sector of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Russia is washed by the seas of three oceans: the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific.
The border between Europe and Asia within Russia is drawn along Ural mountains and along the Kuma-Manych depression. Only a little more than 1/5 of the country's area belongs to Europe (about 22%). At the same time, it is often under European territory Russia means the entire territory lying west of the Urals (about 23% of the area). In any case, the Asian part of Russia accounts for over 3/4 of the country's territory. The 180th meridian passes through Wrangel Island and Chukotka, therefore, the eastern outskirts of Russia lies in the Western Hemisphere. The geographical center of Russia is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Evenki Autonomous Okrug on Lake Vivi. The center of Asia is located in Tuva, near Kyzyl.
The Russian Federation is the largest state in the world in terms of territory; the country's area is 17 million 75 thousand 400 km2 (one eighth of the world's territory). The area of Russia is 1.7 times more area Europe and 1.8 times the area of the United States, 2 times the area of the People's Republic of China and 29 times the area of the largest European state - Ukraine.

Northernmost point
The northernmost point of Russia on the mainland is located far beyond the Arctic Circle at Cape Chelyuskin (77° 43" N).
Cape Chelyuskin, which is the northernmost point of the Taimyr Peninsula and the Eurasian mainland, was first reached by man in 1742. Then the expedition led by Semyon Ivanovich Chelyuskin named the cape East-Northern. It took place as part of the Great Northern Expedition, which was approved by the Admiralty Board, which believed that it was necessary to explore in detail the north of Russia from Pechora to Chukotka and make a description of those places. In honor of Semyon Chelyuskin, a polar navigator and explorer of the north of Russia, the cape was named already in 1842, when the centenary of his expedition was celebrated.

Chelyuskin’s travel journal, in which he shares his impressions of his dog sledding journey, the hard way, done by him with his comrades, and their arrival at the cape, is still kept in St. Petersburg, in the archive navy.
The northernmost point of the Taimyr Peninsula has a harsh climate. Winter here lasts all year round, the snow practically never melts, and the temperature in July and August usually does not exceed +1C°.
The second person to visit this cape was geologists and geographer from Sweden Nils Nordenskiöld. The third was the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen, who on September 9, 1893 sailed past Cape Chelyuskin in a heavy snowstorm on the ship Fram.

Currently, the station is called a radio meteorological center, where from 8 to 10 people spend the winter. A number of residential buildings and scientific pavilions were built. Some buildings are abandoned and not in use. The northernmost airfield of continental Eurasia, “Cape Chelyuskin,” is also located here, which is serviced by the Khatanga United Aviation Enterprise. All that remains of the airfield is a helipad, maintained by the military.
In 1932, a polar station was established on the cape, to which an observatory was later added. Now the station has been transferred to meteorological status. About 10 people constantly spend the winter there. Communication with the mainland and civilization is provided by the Cape Chelyuskin airfield with a helipad.

And one more island point: Cape Fligeli on Rudolf Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago is located even further north - 81° 49" N, the distance from Cape Fligeli to the North Pole is only 900 km.
Rudolf Island is the northernmost of the Franz Josef Land islands. Cape Fligeli on the island is the northernmost point of land, belonging to Russian Federation, at the same time the northernmost point of Europe. The island is administratively owned Arkhangelsk region. Area 297 km?. Almost completely covered by a glacier.

The island, like the entire Franz Josef Archipelago, was discovered in 1873 by the Austro-Hungarian expedition of explorer J. Payer, and was named after Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. In 1936, the base of the first Soviet air expedition to the North Pole was established on the island. From there, in May 1937, four heavy four-engine ANT-6 aircraft brought the Papaninites to the top of the world.
The meteorological station on Rudolf Island was opened in August 1932 as part of the Second International Polar Year program. For the first winter, 4 people remained, led by N.F. Balabin. A year later, the station was mothballed, and work continued again in the summer of 1936. Initially, the station was equipped as a base for the 1937 air expedition to the North Pole. Airfields were equipped near the station and on the ice dome of the island. In the period from April 1942 to 1947, it was again mothballed. Last period works 1947-1995.

Southernmost point
According to the first version, the extreme southern point is located southwest of Mount Bazardyuzyu in the eastern part of the Main, or Watershed, ridge of the Greater Caucasus, on the border of Dagestan and Azerbaijan. The latitude of the point is 41° 11" N. The distance between the extreme northern and southern points exceeds 40° along the meridian, and the northern continental point is 36.5° away from the southern one. This is just over 4 thousand km.

All reference books indicate Bazardyuzyu (4,466 m*) - the highest of the mountain peaks of the Republic of Dagestan and neighboring Azerbaijan. 41°13′16″ n. w. 47°51′29″ E. d.

However, there is another version: The extreme southern bend of the border between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan is located several kilometers southwest of the Bazardyuzyu peak. Closer to the southern point of Russia is Mount Ragdan (41°12" N), and the village of Kurush is the southernmost locality....

The peak on the left is Bazarduzu, on the right is Ragdan

The Usukhchaya Valley is unique in terms of possessing the epithets “most”, “most”, “most”. Here is the easternmost glacier of Dagestan - Tikhitsar. And the southernmost glacier of Dagestan and Russia, Charyn, also lies in the river basin. Next to the Charyn glacier rises Mount Ragdan - the southernmost point of the Russian Federation. One of the longest and highest rock walls of the Caucasus is the Western Wall of Erydag - the pride of our wall climbers. Finally, the highest peak of Dagestan - Bazarduzi (4466 m) is also adjacent to the Usukhchaya valley. One more thing can be noted natural phenomenon valleys. From the ridge of Erydag, the Charaur waterfall, the highest in Dagestan, falls to a depth of 300 meters.

Closer to the southern point of Russia is Mount Ragdan (41°12" N), but it can only be found on large-scale maps.
This extent of the territory from north to south, combined with the latitudinal position, determines the uneven supply of heat to the surface of the country and the formation within its borders of three climatic zones (Arctic, subarctic and temperate) and ten natural areas(from arctic deserts to temperate deserts). The main part of Russia's territory is located between 70 and 50° N. latitude. About 20% of the territory lies beyond the Arctic Circle. The area of the Northern regions is 10 million km2; in this respect, only Canada can serve as an analogue.

Westernmost point
The extreme western point of Russia is located in the Kaliningrad region on the sandy Baltic spit of the Gdansk Bay of the Baltic Sea at 19° 38" 30" east. But due to the fact that the Kaliningrad region is separated from the rest of Russia by the territory of other states and is an enclave, the extreme western point has turned into a kind of “island” point.

They also call the western point of the compact part of Russia, that is, excluding the Kaliningrad region, - in the Pskov region, just north of the junction of the borders of Estonia, Latvia and Russia (27 ° 17 "E).

Easternmost point
The easternmost point of Russia on the mainland is located at Cape Dezhnev (169° 40" W) - Ratmanov Island in the Bering Strait is located even further east - 169° 02" W.

Cape Dezhnev, one of the most brutal places on the Chukotka Peninsula. Here the rocks are piled one on top of the other, there is often fog and a piercing wind constantly blows. From this point to the extreme western point America - Cape Prince of Wales - 86 kilometers.
Despite the remoteness from civilization, these places have attractions. Lighthouse named after Semyon Dezhnev and antique cross, installed nearby, the abandoned whalers' village of the 18th-20th centuries - Naukan (it was disbanded during Soviet power). However, those who climb to these regions come to see the unique fauna: there are countless bird colonies here, there is a walrus and seal rookery, and in the spring you can see polar bears with cubs. Sometimes killer whales and gray whales swim very close to the shore.

Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev in 1648 circumnavigated the Chukotka Peninsula from the north and proved that it was possible to get from Europe to China through the northern seas. He passed through the strait separating America from Eurasia 80 years earlier than Vitus Bering, but little was known about Russian pioneers in the Old World. Therefore, the glory went to Bering. However, in 1879, restoring justice, the Swedish Arctic explorer Nils Nordenskiöld named the extreme eastern point of Eurasia, Cape Dezhnev, after the Russian navigator. Until this time, the cape was called Vostochny.
How to get there: the nearest village of Uelen is located 10 kilometers from Cape Dezhnev, and the nearest airport is in Provideniya Bay, where planes fly from Anadyr.

Ratmanova Island has irregular shape(approximately 9 km long, 5 km wide) and an area of about 10 square meters. km; It's practically a large rock with a flat top. Just 4 km 160 m away is Kruzenshtern Island (formerly Little Diomede), with an area of about 5 square meters. km, which belongs to the USA. There is also Fairway Rock. The name Diomede was given to this archipelago by Vitus Bering, who approached the big island August 16, 1728, Saint Diomede's Day. But even before this name, Ratmanov Island already had a name - Imaklik (translated from Eskimo - “surrounded by water”), which was given to it by the Eskimos who lived on it for more than two thousand years. By the way, the Eskimos called Krusenstern Island (formerly Little Diomede) Ingalik, which means “opposite”.
The story of the island being named after Ratmanov is as follows. In 1816, the famous navigator Otto Kotzebue, while exploring the Bering Strait, mistakenly counted not three islands in the Diomede archipelago (as had been shown on the map since 1732), but four islands. He decided to give the “newly discovered” island the name of his colleague, naval officer Makar Ratmanov, with whom he took part in round the world expedition a few years earlier. When the error was discovered, they decided to leave Ratmanov’s name on the map, and from the middle of the 19th century, Big Diomede changed its name.

Western (large) - Ratmanov Island

The island is like a gable roof, with an extensive, gentler northern slope. From south to north, as if bending it in the middle, a river with marshy banks flows, and closer to the raised edges scatterings of bare stones and bizarre outcrops begin. The southern slope is smaller, but steeper. The remains on it are more numerous and the steep banks are higher. The junction of both slopes forms a small ridge, the highest point of which is called Mount Roof. The island occupies a key position on the border between Asia and North America and two oceans - the Pacific and the Arctic. It overlooks a huge water area. For tens of kilometers to the west, north and east, it is easy to trace the movements of marine animals and the flights of birds.
The islands were inhabited by brave Inupik Eskimo sailors. Barter trade between Asian and American Eskimos took place through them; they were at the center of all events in the Northern Bering Sea and, creating their own culture, took a lot from cultural traditions, already existing on both continents. In 1948, with the beginning cold war between the USSR and the USA, the inhabitants of the island were resettled to the mainland.

Now there is a Russian border outpost on Ratmanov Island. On Kruzenshtern Island there is a village with a population of 600 people. The Russian-American border, as well as the international date line, runs between these islands. Getting to Ratmanov Island is not just difficult, but extremely difficult. And not only because this is actually a state border, but also due to weather conditions - 300 days a year the island is shrouded in thick fog. Most shortcut: from Anadyr by helicopter via St. Lawrence. But this is only after receiving permission from the SVRPU. But it's worth it!
The distance between the western and eastern outskirts of Russia is 171° 20" or almost 10 thousand km. With the enormous extent of the territory from west to east, the degree of continental climate changes, which entails the manifestation of sectoral changes in nature. There are 10 time zones within the Russian Federation The highest point in Russia is Mount Elbrus (5642 m), located in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic on the border with the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The lowest absolute height is noted in the Caspian depression (- 28 m).

The Russian Federation occupies the largest territory of any country in the world. Actually, Russia owns an eighth of all territories in general. Therefore, many are interested in the question of where the extreme points of Russian territory are located.

The answers will be different depending on whether we consider only continental points or any extreme objects. Let's look at both.

The southernmost point of Russia

As for the southernmost point of Russia, it is located on the Eurasian continent and, therefore, is continental. It is located on the territory of Dagestan, which itself is the southernmost subject of the Russian Federation.

A significant part of the territory of the republic is occupied by the mountains and foothills of the Caucasus, in the north there is a lowland and the Caspian Sea. In the south, Dagestan borders with Azerbaijan, and it is on the border with this country that the southernmost coordinate is located.

Its coordinates are 41°11′07″ north latitude 47°46′54″ east longitude. This southernmost point is located in the mountains at an altitude of about 3500 m, not far from Mount Ragdan.

The southernmost populated area of the Russian Federation is Derbent. The second oldest city in Russia arose back in the 4th millennium BC and was of great strategic importance. In the city you can see amazing architectural monuments, such as the Naryn-Kala fortress.

Northernmost point

The northernmost point of the Russian Federation coincides with the northernmost point of Eurasia. This is Cape Fligeli, which is located on Rudolf Island (Franz Josef Land archipelago). This cape is named after the cartographer who described these places; coordinates of the point are 81°50′35″ north latitude 59°14′22″ east longitude.

And the northernmost mainland point of Russia is Cape Chelyuskin. Located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, it was first reached by members of the Second Kamchatka Expedition in the mid-18th century and named after navigator S.I. Chelyuskin.

The westernmost point of Russia

In the west, the extreme point of Russia is on the Baltic Spit. This is the Normeln border post, whose coordinates are 54°27′45″ north latitude 19°38′19″ east longitude.

The Baltic Spit is a narrow strip of mainland that separates part of the Gulf of Gdansk. The spit stretches for 65 km, and only part of it (about half) belongs to the Russian Federation, the rest is the territory of Poland.

The westernmost point of Russia is located on the mainland, not far from the city of Kaliningrad (Königsberg), one of the most beautiful cities in Russia. Kaliningrad is a recognized tourist center, it has many amazing architectural monuments and good hotels. The influx of tourists is constrained by the need to have a foreign passport and obtain a visa to travel through the territory of Lithuania.

The westernmost city in Russia is Baltiysk, located near Kaliningrad. It's pretty Big city, which houses the largest Russian Navy base in the Baltic. There is also a train station and a large port.

This city was closed for a long time, so its magnificent nature has remained almost untouched: sandy beaches, pine forests; There are also historical monuments.

The easternmost point of Russia

And the last of the extreme points of the Russian border is the eastern one. This is Ratmanov Island, whose coordinates are 65°47′ north latitude 169°01′ west longitude. It is named after the Russian navigator M.I. Ratmanov and is located in the Bering Strait.

The easternmost point of Russia cannot boast of being crowded: only a border guard base is located here. But there is freedom for the birds: the island has one of the largest bird colonies, where even the buffy hummingbird has been seen. There is also a huge walrus rookery here.

If we talk about the extreme continental points of Russia, then this is Cape Dezhnev. From here to Alaska is only 80 km. There is also freedom here for walruses and numerous species of birds, and in the sea nearby there are whales, killer whales, and seals.

Cape Dezhnev is named after the Russian traveler Semyon Dezhnev, who described these places back in the 17th century. Dezhnev's expedition stopped here, the travelers visited the Eskimos.

Now these places are also inhabited by Eskimos. The population, of course, is small: the climate on Cape Dezhnev is harsh, arctic.

The easternmost city in Russia is Anadyr, which is as much as 6,200 km from Moscow. This is not a very large city in the Chukotka region, which dates back to the end of the 19th century. The climate here is subarctic; Fishery is developed and there is a seaport. Oddly enough, the city has more than once received the award “The Most Comfortable City in Russia.”

Just a few years ago, an astonishing discovery in the field of archeology occurred near Anadyr: scientists discovered a petrified forest, which was attributed to the Upper Paleocene time.

Lowest and highest coordinates

The lowest point in Russia is the bottom of the Caspian Sea. Its depth is -28 m.
The Caspian Sea is sometimes called a lake, but due to its size, as well as the fact that its bed consists of rocks of oceanic origin, it is more often considered a sea.

There are several states on the shores of the Caspian Sea; The Russian coastline is 695 km long.

The highest point in Russia is Mount Elbrus, located in the Caucasus and also the highest point in Europe. Elbrus has a height of 5642 m and is one of the highest mountains peace.
There are cable cars and alpine shelters on the mountain. Elbrus is loved by climbers all over the world. The mountain is relatively easy, but there are many cracks on it, and the weather conditions are quite difficult, as a result of which up to 20 athletes die here every year. The main cause of accidents is freezing.

For example, ten years ago, almost all members of a group of 12 people froze to death on Elbrus. However, climbers still strive to conquer this peak again and again. After 2010, Elbrus was climbed twice by disabled climbers from Indonesia and Russia.

The extreme point of the country in the north still remains - this is Cape Chelyuskin on the Taimyr Peninsula (77° 43 "N), which is also considered the northernmost point of Eurasia. An additional island point is also taken into account - Cape Fligeli, on Rudolf Island, which belongs to the Franz Josef Land archipelago (81° 49" N). The westernmost point is the city of Baltiysk, considered the outport of Kaliningrad. The easternmost point is Cape Dezhnev and Ratmanov Island. But the extreme southern point of Russia has now changed: before it was in Turkmenistan, it was the village of Kushka. Currently, the southernmost point of our country is located southwest of Mount Bazardyuzyu and east of the Main Caucasus Range, not far from the border of Dagestan and Azerbaijan. The first recorded ascent of Bazardyuzyu was made by Russian topographers in 1873.

Bazarduzu, whose height is 4,466 m, is one of the most memorable peaks of the Caucasus range. It is simply incredible for mountaineering. Its gentle southern slope is optimal for novice climbers, and the icy northern, almost vertical wall belongs to the highest category of difficulty. Bazarduzu had different nations various names. Some translated this word as “flat-topped mountain”, others called it Tikisar - High Head. The Lezgins called it Kichevnedag - Mountain of Horror. But translated from Turkic it means “market square”, or more precisely, “turn to the bazaar”.

Since ancient times, in these places in the Azerbaijani Valley of Shahnabad, which is located east of this mountain, a large annual fair was held, which was attended not only by merchants and buyers from nearby regions and states, but also people from such countries as:

In order not to get lost, everyone was guided by the most noticeable mountain Bazarduzu, the ice wall of which immediately gave a complete picture of the location of the fair, since at this place they had to turn left, overcome a small pass and go to the desired place.

The distance between the northern and southern points of Russia is more than four thousand kilometers. In combination with the latitudinal position, this determines the different intensity of heat supply to the entire surface area of the country, which is why three climatic zones are formed - arctic, subarctic, and temperate. As well as ten natural areas.

Currently, the southernmost point of Russia is located at an altitude of over 3,500 m and is located 2.2 km east of Mount Radgan, southwest of the Nesen (3.7 km) and Bazardyuzyu (7.3 km) mountains.

Derbent (Dagestan) is considered the southernmost city in our country. In 2015, its 2000th anniversary was celebrated. The city's location at the narrowest point of the Caspian Passage influenced its architecture and the location of defensive buildings and walls. The longest wall is considered to be to the west of the citadel, the length of which is 40 km. Its construction made it impossible to bypass the fortress along mountain passes. The name of the city “Derbent” first appeared in documents of the 7th century and translated from Persian meant “Locked Gate”.

In the center of the old city there is the oldest Juma Mosque in the CIS and Russia. In 733, in addition to 7 mosques built in each of the mahals of Derbent, a large mosque was erected for performing common Friday prayers. The final formation of the entire complex was completed in 1815. But during the atheist campaign carried out in the USSR in the thirties of the last century, the Juma Mosque was closed, and then in 1943 it was returned to the clergy of the city. In 2015, it underwent restoration. Eastern plane trees, which have surpassed the age of several centuries, are protected by the All-Russian state program"Trees are monuments of living nature." Their dense foliage protects pilgrims and numerous tourists in hot sunny weather.

Derbent today is a real museum city, with a history that has been going on for the third millennium. It has remained in its place since ancient times. Due to its advantageous location, the Roman Empire constantly tried to capture it. Golden Horde, enlightened Byzantium and even the Khazar Khaganate.

Most of the residents of the ancient city keep and breed pigeons. Many courtyards, according to tradition, are equipped with dovecotes; they are also installed in attics and in the shade under trees. The white birds flying over the ancient city are extremely beautiful, their flight is impossible to forget.

Derbent is also famous for its carpets, the production of which began in the 5th century, and modern carpets are made using the same ancient technologies, from natural materials.

Derbent is the most famous ancient city, not far from which the southernmost point is located. Close to it is Mount Radgan, whose height is 4,020 m, but it is marked only on large-scale maps.

Between Europe and Asia within Russia, it was carried out along the Ural Mountains and along the Kuma-Manych depression. Only a little more than 1/5 of the country's area belongs to Europe (about 22%). Moreover, the European territory of Russia often means the entire territory lying west of the Urals (about 23% of the area). In any case, the Asian part of Russia accounts for over 3/4 of the country's territory. The 180th meridian passes through Wrangel Island and Chukotka, therefore, the eastern outskirts of Russia lies in the Western Hemisphere. The geographical center of Russia is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Evenki Autonomous Okrug on Lake Vivi. The center of Asia is located in Tuva, near Kyzyl.

The Russian Federation is the largest state in the world in terms of territory, the country's area is 17 million 75 thousand 400 km 2 (one eighth of the world's territory). The area of Russia is 1.7 times larger than the area of Europe and 1.8 times larger than the area of the United States, 2 times larger than the area of China and 29 times larger than the area of the largest European state - Ukraine.

Northernmost point

The northernmost point of Russia on the mainland is located far beyond the Arctic Circle at Cape Chelyuskin(77° 43" N). Cape Fligeli on Rudolf Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago is located even further north - 81° 49" N, the distance from Cape Fligeli to the North Pole is only 900 km.

Southernmost point

The extreme southern point is located southwest of Mount Bazarduzu in the eastern part of the Main, or Watershed, ridge of the Greater Caucasus, on the border of Dagestan and Azerbaijan. The latitude of the point is 41° 11" N. The distance between the extreme northern and southern points exceeds 40° along the meridian, and the northern continental point is 36.5° away from the southern one. This is just over 4 thousand km.

This extent of the territory from north to south, combined with the latitudinal position, determines the uneven supply of heat to the surface of the country and the formation within its borders of three climatic zones (Arctic, subarctic and temperate) and ten natural zones (from arctic deserts to temperate deserts). The main part of Russia's territory is located between 70 and 50° N. latitude. About 20% of the territory lies beyond the Arctic Circle. The area of the Northern regions is 10 million km2; in this respect, only Canada can serve as an analogue.

Westernmost point

The extreme western point of Russia is located in the Kaliningrad region on the sandy Baltic spit of the Gdansk Bay of the Baltic Sea at 19° 38" 30" E. But due to the fact that the Kaliningrad region is separated from the rest of Russia by the territory of other states and is an enclave, the extreme western point has turned into a kind of “island” point.

Easternmost point

The easternmost point of Russia on the mainland is located at Cape Dezhnev(169° 40" W) - Ratmanov Island in the Bering Strait is located even further east - 169° 02" W.

The distance between the western and eastern outskirts of Russia is 171° 20" or almost 10 thousand km. With the enormous extent of the territory from west to east, the degree of continental climate changes, which entails the manifestation of sectoral changes in nature. There are 10 time zones within the Russian Federation.

The highest point in Russia is Mount Elbrus (5642 m), located in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic on the border with the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The lowest absolute height was noted in the Caspian depression (-28 m).

January 22nd, 2013

We continue to study interesting topics. This is what he writes to us aleks18771

“You could make a series about the extreme points of Russia. For example, finding the eastern and western ones is not difficult.
No one knows where the Southern hike is. In any case, no one really writes on the Internet yet."

Well, let's go look for points..

The border between Europe and Asia within Russia is drawn along the Ural Mountains and along the Kuma-Manych depression. Only a little more than 1/5 of the country's area belongs to Europe (about 22%). Moreover, the European territory of Russia often means the entire territory lying west of the Urals (about 23% of the area). In any case, the Asian part of Russia accounts for over 3/4 of the country's territory. The 180th meridian passes through Wrangel Island and Chukotka, therefore, the eastern outskirts of Russia lies in the Western Hemisphere. The geographical center of Russia is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Evenki Autonomous Okrug on Lake Vivi. The center of Asia is located in Tuva, near Kyzyl.

The Russian Federation is the largest state in the world in terms of territory; the country's area is 17 million 75 thousand 400 km2 (one eighth of the world's territory). The area of Russia is 1.7 times larger than the area of Europe and 1.8 times larger than the area of the United States, 2 times larger than the area of China and 29 times larger than the area of the largest European state - Ukraine.

Northernmost point

The northernmost point of Russia on the mainland is located far beyond the Arctic Circle at Cape Chelyuskin (77° 43" N).

Cape Chelyuskin, which is the northernmost point of the Taimyr Peninsula and the Eurasian mainland, was first reached by man in 1742. Then the expedition led by Semyon Ivanovich Chelyuskin named the cape East-Northern. It took place as part of the Great Northern Expedition, which was approved by the Admiralty Board, which believed that it was necessary to explore in detail the north of Russia from Pechora to Chukotka and make a description of those places. In honor of Semyon Chelyuskin, a polar navigator and explorer of the north of Russia, the cape was named already in 1842, when the centenary of his expedition was celebrated.

Chelyuskin's travel journal, in which he shares his impressions of his dog sled journey, the difficult journey he made with his comrades, and their arrival at the Cape, is still kept in St. Petersburg, in the archives of the navy.

The northernmost point of the Taimyr Peninsula has a harsh climate. Winter here lasts all year round, the snow practically never melts, and the temperature in July and August usually does not exceed +1C°.

The second person to visit this cape was geologists and geographer from Sweden Nils Nordenskiöld. The third was the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen, who on September 9, 1893 sailed past Cape Chelyuskin in a heavy snowstorm on the ship Fram.

In 1932, a polar station was established on the cape, to which an observatory was later added. Now the station has been transferred to meteorological status. About 10 people constantly spend the winter there. Communication with the mainland and civilization is provided by the Cape Chelyuskin airfield with a helipad.

Rudolf Island is the northernmost of the Franz Josef Land islands. Cape Fligeli on the island is the northernmost point of land belonging to the Russian Federation, at the same time the northernmost point of Europe. The island administratively belongs to the Arkhangelsk region. Area 297 km². Almost completely covered by a glacier.

The meteorological station on Rudolf Island was opened in August 1932 as part of the Second International Polar Year program. For the first winter, 4 people remained, led by N.F. Balabin. A year later, the station was mothballed, and work continued again in the summer of 1936. Initially, the station was equipped as a base for the 1937 air expedition to the North Pole. Airfields were equipped near the station and on the ice dome of the island. In the period from April 1942 to 1947, it was again mothballed. The last period of work was 1947-1995.

Southernmost point

According to the first version, the extreme southern point is located southwest of Mount Bazardyuzyu in the eastern part of the Main, or Watershed, ridge of the Greater Caucasus, on the border of Dagestan and Azerbaijan. The latitude of the point is 41° 11" N. The distance between the extreme northern and southern points exceeds 40° along the meridian, and the northern continental point is 36.5° away from the southern one. This is just over 4 thousand km.

All reference books indicate that Bazardyuzyu (4,466 m*) is the highest of the mountain peaks of the Republic of Dagestan and neighboring Azerbaijan. 41°13′16″ n. w. 47°51′29″ E. d.

However, there is another version: The extreme southern bend of the border between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan is located several kilometers southwest of the Bazardyuzyu peak. Closer to the southern point of Russia is Mount Ragdan (41°12" N). And the village of Kurush is the southernmost populated area....

The peak on the left is Bazarduzu, on the right is Ragdan

The Usukhchaya Valley is unique in terms of possessing the epithets “most”, “most”, “most”. Here is the easternmost glacier of Dagestan - Tikhitsar. And the southernmost glacier of Dagestan and Russia, Charyn, also lies in the river basin. Next to the Charyn glacier rises Mount Ragdan, the southernmost point of the Russian Federation. One of the longest and highest rock walls of the Caucasus is the Western Wall of Erydag - the pride of our wall climbers. Finally, the highest peak of Dagestan - Bazarduzi (4466 m) is also adjacent to the Usukhchaya valley. One more natural phenomenon of the valley can be noted. From the ridge of Erydag, the Charaur waterfall, the highest in Dagestan, falls to a depth of 300 meters.

Closer to the southern point of Russia is Mount Ragdan (41°12" N), but it can only be found on large-scale maps.

Westernmost point

The extreme western point of Russia is located in the Kaliningrad region on the sandy Baltic spit of the Gdansk Bay of the Baltic Sea at 19° 38" 30" east. But due to the fact that the Kaliningrad region is separated from the rest of Russia by the territory of other states and is an enclave, the extreme western point has turned into a kind of “island” point.

They also call the western point of the compact part of Russia, that is, without taking into account the Kaliningrad region, - in the Pskov region, just north of the junction of the borders of Estonia, Latvia and Russia (27 ° 17 "E).

Easternmost point

The easternmost point of Russia on the mainland is located at Cape Dezhnev (169° 40" W) - Ratmanov Island in the Bering Strait is located even further east - 169° 02" W.

Despite the remoteness from civilization, these places have attractions. The lighthouse named after Semyon Dezhnev and an ancient cross installed nearby, an abandoned whaling village of the 18th-20th centuries - Naukan (it was disbanded under Soviet rule). However, those who climb to these regions come to see the unique fauna: there are countless bird colonies here, there is a walrus and seal rookery, and in the spring you can see polar bears with cubs. Sometimes killer whales and gray whales swim very close to the shore.

Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev in 1648 circumnavigated the Chukotka Peninsula from the north and proved that it was possible to get from Europe to China through the northern seas. He passed through the strait separating America from Eurasia 80 years earlier than Vitus Bering, but little was known about Russian pioneers in the Old World. Therefore, the glory went to Bering.
However, in 1879, restoring justice, the Swedish Arctic explorer Nils Nordenskiöld named the extreme eastern point of Eurasia - Cape Dezhnev, after the Russian navigator. Until this time, the cape was called Vostochny.

How to get there: the nearest village of Uelen is located 10 kilometers from Cape Dezhnev, and the nearest airport is in Provideniya Bay, where planes fly from Anadyr.

Ratmanova Island has an irregular shape (about 9 km long, 5 km wide) and an area of about 10 square meters. km; It's practically a large rock with a flat top. Just 4 km 160 m away is Kruzenshtern Island (formerly Little Diomede), with an area of about 5 square meters. km, which belongs to the USA. There is also Fairway Rock. The name Diomede was given to this archipelago by Vitus Bering, who approached the large island on the boat “Saint Gabriel” on August 16, 1728, the day of Saint Diomede. But even before this name, Ratmanov Island already had a name - Imaklik (translated from Eskimo - “surrounded by water”), which was given to it by the Eskimos who lived on it for more than two thousand years. By the way, the Eskimos called Krusenstern Island (formerly Little Diomede) Ingalik, which means “opposite”.

The story of the island being named after Ratmanov is as follows. In 1816, the famous navigator Otto Kotzebue, while exploring the Bering Strait, mistakenly counted not three islands in the Diomede archipelago (as had been shown on the map since 1732), but four islands. He decided to give the “newly discovered” island the name of his colleague, naval officer Makar Ratmanov, with whom he took part in a round-the-world expedition several years earlier. When the error was discovered, they decided to leave Ratmanov’s name on the map, and from the middle of the 19th century, Big Diomede changed its name.

Western (large) - Ratmanov Island

The islands were inhabited by brave Inupik Eskimo sailors. Barter trade between Asian and American Eskimos took place through them; they were at the center of all events in the Northern Bering Sea and, creating their own culture, adopted a lot from the cultural traditions that already existed on both continents. In 1948, with the outbreak of the Cold War between the USSR and the USA, the inhabitants of the island were resettled to the mainland.

The distance between the western and eastern outskirts of Russia is 171° 20" or almost 10 thousand km. With the enormous extent of the territory from west to east, the degree of continental climate changes, which entails the manifestation of sectoral changes in nature. There are 10 time zones within the Russian Federation .
The highest point in Russia is Mount Elbrus (5642 m), located in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic on the border with the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The lowest absolute height was noted in the Caspian depression (-28 m).

So we walked around our Motherland Russia :-)

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