and in the southeast 2,500 feet high. Fogs are frequent. Mean 

 temperature in July is 32° to 34° F. Weather is clear in winter 

 with lowest mean in the order of minus 22° F. The absolute 

 minimum is near minus 50° F. There is little precipitation. 

 Animal life is sparse. Resources are nil. Sites for airfields are 

 available. There is no question about capability of Soviets oper- 

 ating aircraft there. 



The New Siberian Islands lie off the east Siberian coast. The 

 archipelago consists of four major and a number of minor islands. 

 The largest and highest is the western island, Koletroi. The 

 eastern island, Novaya Sibir, is less than 350 feet in elevation. 

 The strata of these islands contain the remains of various pre- 

 historic animals which had their normal habitats in warmer 

 climes. The vegetation is poor in species and in growth. The 

 formation is that of dry tundra. The temperature is lower in all 

 months than at the mouth of the Lena River. 



To the northeast of the New Siberian Islands, there lies a group 

 of small islands near the edge of the continental shelf. The larg- 

 est is Bennett Island in latitude 76°40' N. It is a rocky plateau, 

 ice-covered, with an area of only 75 square miles. 



Farther to the east stands Wrangel Island, Soviet sentinel of 

 Bering Strait and East Siberia. It is difficult to reach by ordinary 

 ship during the normal summer season. It is 1,800 square miles 

 in area, 80 miles long, with greatest width 30 miles. It is gen- 

 erally mountainous, hilly and scantily covered with tundra. The 

 elevation of the highest mountain is 2,500 to 3,000 feet. There 

 are sites available for airfields. 



Nicholas II Land (Lenin Land or North Land on some maps) 

 is a small archipelago lying at 80° N., 100° E. to the north of Cape 

 Chelyuskin on the Taimyr Peninsula. 



SUMMARY 



Geography is developing as an increasingly important science. 

 So little is known of the geography of the Arctic, that it is covered 

 here in some detail to give the reader a general picture of these 

 vast areas. 



The Arctic is cold, but the coldest spots in the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere are not in the Arctic. It is a barren and desolate land, but 

 in places vegetation, animals, birds, insects, and fish abound. It 

 is windy, but chiefly in localized areas. It rains and snows 

 heavily, but only in spots. It is not unfriendly if one knows, un- 

 derstands, and respects it. 



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