Severnaya Zemlya broader Shokalsky Strait Bolshevik Island from October Revolution Island. Both straits connect the Kara Sea in the west with the Laptev Sea in the east. This archipelago encloses the northern limits of the Kara Sea on its western shores, together with Novaya Zemlya, located roughly to the southwest. The big rivers Ob and Yenisei, among others, flow from the south into this marginal sea area of the Arctic Ocean, with their abundant waters contributing to a climate with relatively high precipitation despite the prevalent extreme cold temperatures of the high latitude. The Laptev Sea, where the mighty Lena River steadily
German submarine U-355 hit by three torpedoes, sank within 10 minutes around 17 miles west of Novaya Zemlya. Of the crew, 29 men, seven gunners, and two naval signalmen were killed. The master and 12 men landed at Pomorski Bay, Novaya Zemlya. Another seven survivors took shelter on the American merchant ship , (also of PQ 17), which had run aground and been abandoned on North Gusini Shoal, Novaya Zemlya, and were later rescued by a Soviet survey ship. The U-boat returned to Narvik on 12 July after 27 days at sea. This was "U-355"s only success despite sailing on another eight patrols