Severnaya Zemlya north from Siberia. The climate data below, taken from the Golomyanniy Meteorological Station gives an indication of the weather experienced in the archipelago. Severnaya Zemlya is a polar desert with sparse vegetation and permafrost at less than . Rare vascular plants include species of "Cerastium" and "Saxifraga". Non-vascular plants include the moss genera "Detrichum", "Dicranum", "Pogonatum", "Sanionia", "Bryum", "Orthothecium" and "Tortula", as well as the lichen genera "Cetraria", "Thamnolia", "Cornicularia", "Lecidea", "Ochrolechia" and "Parmelia". Common flowering plants of the high Arctic such as the purple saxifrage ("Saxifraga oppositifolia") and the Arctic poppy ("Papaver radicatum") also occur on Severnaya Zemlya. According
Severnaya Zemlya of the Severnaya Zemlya group and is separated from Komsomolets Island by the Yuny Strait. Pioneer island measures in area. This island houses the Pioneer Glacier. Thelodonti fossils from the Upper Silurian have been found in the island. Off Pioneer Island's southwestern end lies Krupskoy Island. This is a fairly large island, over in length and about in width. The sound that separates it from Pioneer is only in width. This island should not be confused with Pioneer Island in Canada (). Schmidt Island, measuring , is located at the far northwestern end of the archipelago. This island is quite