Russia
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
5,200km²
Area
318km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
166m
Highest point
446
People
8°C
Warmest sea
August
43km
To the mainland
When to go to Kolguyev Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (8 °C) and coolest in February (-1 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Barents Sea, Russia
Kolguyev Island is an island in Russia. It covers 5,200 km², with 318 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 166 m. About 446 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 43 km away.
Getting there
- Naryan Mar Airport (NNM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 227 km in a straight line
- 43 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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Cross-checked with our atlases
Kolguyev Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kolguyev Island, each with its own numbers.
10mountainsPeakyas
3lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
36.4km²
Peschanoe
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
18.0°C
Solyonoe
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
10 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Sopka Dorozhkina
- Sopka Khabizov
- Sopka Yel'tseva-Vauk
- Gora Sauchikha-Sarlopy
- Gora Yuzhnaya Kovariga
- Gora Paarkov-Sarlopy
- Gora Artel'nyy Sarlopy
- Gory Paarkov Sarlopy
2 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
3 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Peschanoe36.4km²
- Ozero Krivoye (lanaw sa Rusya, Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug)1.7km²
- Solyonoe1.1km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 43 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 62 %0–50 m
- 38 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -7 | -8 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 3 | -1 | -4 |
| Night low (°C) | -12 | -13 | -11 | -6 | -2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | -4 | -7 |
| Sea (°C) | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Rain (mm) | 45 | 36 | 43 | 46 | 54 | 69 | 51 | 66 | 66 | 71 | 66 | 58 |
| Wet days | 15 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 0.1 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +3.5 | +3.3 | +2.3 | +1.8 | +2.4 | +1.8 |
| 2021 | −0.8 | −0.5 | −0.5 | −0.5 | −1.0 | +0.3 | +1.7 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.2 | −0.3 |
| 2022 | −0.9 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.1 | +1.6 | +2.3 | +3.3 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.5 | +2.0 |
| 2023 | +0.6 | +1.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.3 | +2.1 | +2.3 | +4.2 | +2.5 | +1.5 | +0.7 | −0.8 |
| 2024 | −0.7 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.6 | −1.4 | −2.6 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +2.6 | +1.2 | +1.8 | +2.2 |
| 2025 | +1.9 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.3 | +2.4 | +0.5 | +2.6 | +2.9 | +2.1 | +1.7 | +1.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q216161) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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