Kara Sea Kara Sea The Kara Sea (, "Karskoye more") is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. It is named after the Kara River (flowing into Baydaratskaya Bay), which is now relatively insignificant but which played an important role in the Russian conquest of northern Siberia. The Kara River name is derived from Nenets word meaning "hummocked ice". The Kara Sea's northern limit is marked geographically by a line running from
Severnaya Zemlya less glaciated than the other islands of Severnaya Zemlya. Only about 30% of the island is covered by glaciers while the coastal plains have a sparse vegetation of moss and lichen. The Leningrad Glacier, Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky Glacier, Kropotkin Glacier, Mushketov Glacier and Aerosyomki Glacier are located in the interior of the island and do not reach the sea. "Ostrov Tash" is a small island located on Bolshevik's southern shore. "Lavrov Island" is located off the NE shore and "Ostrov Lishniy" off its northern tip. Komsomolets Island () is the northernmost island of the Severnaya Zemlya group in the Russian Arctic, and