Severnaya Zemlya (syĕˈvĭrnĪə zĭmlyäˈ) [key] [Rus., = northern land], archipelago, c.14,300 sq mi (37,010 sq km), between the Kara and Laptev seas, Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia, off the Taymyr Peninsula. Extending N of lat. 80°N, it is composed of four major islands—October Revolution, Bolshevik, Komsomolets, Pioneer—and several smaller ones. Glaciers are found on the larger islands. Discovered in 1913, it was first named Nicholas II Land.
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