) is the westernmost island
of the Anzhu Islands
subgroup of the New Siberian Islands archipelago
in the Laptev Sea
. The strait between Belkovsky Island and neighboring Kotelny Island
is known as the Zarya Strait
, after Eduard Toll
's Zarya (polar ship)
. Ostrov Strizhëva
is a small islet located right off Belkovsky's southern shore.
Belkovsky Island's area is approximately 500 km² in area. The highest point of the island is 120 m.
Administratively, Belkovsky Island is a part of the Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation.
Belkovsky Island consist of tightly folded Upper Devonian
and Lower Carboniferous strata
. The Upper Devonian rocks are clayey marine
carbonates interbedded with limestone
, and conglomerate
. The Lower Carboniferous rocks are composed of siltstone
, and sandstone interbedded with breccia
, limestone, and infrequent rhyolitic lavas
Fauna and Flora
There are big bird colonies and a walrus rookery
on the island.
Rush/grass, forb, cryptogam tundra covers the Belkovsky Island. It is tundra consisting mostly of very low-growing grasses, rushes, forbs, mosses, lichens, and liverworts. These plants either mostly or completely cover the surface of the ground. The soils are typically moist, fine-grained, and often hummocky.
The island was discovered in 1808
by a Russian merchant
anonymous, nd, Laptev Sea
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Rachold, V., nda, pebble beach of Belkovsky Island. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Rachold, V., ndb, remnants of sea-ice, august 2002. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.