Severnaya Zemlya but currently there are no human inhabitants in Severnaya Zemlya except for the Prima Polar Station near Cape Baranov. The largest glacier in the Russian Federation, the Academy of Sciences Glacier, is located in Severnaya Zemlya. The archipelago is notable as well in connection with the ongoing multiyear Arctic sea ice decline. Until recently, ice joined the islands to Eurasia, even at its smallest extent during the late summer melt season, blocking the Northeast Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. By the late summer of 2012, however, the permanent ice had reached a record low extent and open water
Yuzhny Island Yuzhny Island Yuzhny () is the southern island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, lying north of Russia. It has an area of , which while smaller than the northern island of Severny, makes it one of the largest islands in the world. It is separated from Severny Island by the narrow Matochkin Strait, which is covered with ice most of the year. West of Yuzhny Island lies the Barents Sea, and to the east the Kara Sea. Originally home to the Nenets people, the island was largely evacuated in the 1950s to make way for nuclear weapons testing. Yuzhny Island