Tsar Bomba C), north of the Arctic Circle over the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The bomb was dropped from an altitude of ; it was designed to detonate at a height of over the land surface ( above sea level) by barometric sensors. The original, November 1961, United States Atomic Energy Commission estimate of the yield was 55–60 megatons, but since 1992, all Russian sources have stated its yield as 58.6 megatons. First secretary Khrushchev warned in a filmed speech to the Supreme Soviet of the existence of a 100-megaton bomb (technically the design was capable of this yield.)
Severnaya Zemlya detached from the whole Severnaya Zemlya group. It is also its northernmost island and is fully in the region of permanent sea ice. This island is almost entirely covered by the Schmidt Ice Cap. Owing to its exposed position, the climate in the Schmidt Island's area is much colder than in the rest of the archipelago. Schmidt Island was named after the Soviet scientist Otto Schmidt. Close to the main archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya there are a number of smaller islands and archipelagos. There are also many small coastal islands and islets in different locations, such as Krupskoy to the