Franz Josef Land
Far north Russian archipelago.
Franz Josef Land is an archipelago located in the far north of Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean north of Novaya Zemlya and east of Svalbard. Franz Josef Land consists of 191 ice-covered islands with a total area of 16,134 km. It has no native inhabitants, but several settlements have been built by Russian settlers. They rely solely on walrus and seal meat.
At latitudes between 80.0o and 81.9o north, it is the most northerly group of islands associated with Eurasia. The extreme northernmost point is Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island. The archipelago is only 900 to 1,110 km from the North Pole, and the northernmost islands are closer to the Pole than any other land except for Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland.