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Russia RussiaFranz Josef LandIsland

Wilczek Land

1,966 km² rising to 606 m out of the Barents Sea.

When to go

Wilczek Land seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
N 10 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

1,966km²

Area

247km

Coastline

606m

Highest point

0

People

0°C

Warmest sea

August

739km

To the mainland

When to go to Wilczek Land

Good all year round.

The sea is warmest in August (0 °C) and coolest in January (-2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days

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

Wilczek Land is an island in Russia. It belongs to Franz Josef Land. It covers 1,966 km², with 247 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 606 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 739 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • 739 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 227 m above the sea. 44 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 11 %0–50 m
  • 33 %50–200 m
  • 56 %200–500 m
  • <1 %500–1,000 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.

Wilczek Land1,966 km²
Long Island3,529 km²
Mallorca3,685 km²

50 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)-14-14-16-12-6-111-1-5-10-13
Night low (°C)-19-19-20-16-8-20-1-3-8-14-17
Sea (°C)-2-2-2-2-1-1000-1-1-2
Rain (mm)343033262433405052453537
Wet days1099878111314131212
Sun h/day—1.66.812.014.112.17.63.51.80.9——
Wind (km/h)242422211818181921242424

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.3−0.6−1.1+1.3+1.7+0.3−0.1−0.1
2021−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.3−0.5−0.9+0.3+0.1+0.2−0.4−0.1
2022−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.3−0.5−0.3+0.4−0.7−0.2−0.4−0.1
2023−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.3−0.4−1.0−1.3−0.9−0.7−0.4−0.1
2024−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.1−0.3−0.6−0.4+0.7±0.0+0.1±0.0−0.1
2025−0.1−0.1±0.0±0.0−0.1−0.4−0.3+1.7+1.1+1.0+0.2+0.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q726478) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

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