Dikson Island

Dikson Island 

a rocky island, formed primarily of diabases, in the northeastern Enisei Gulf. Located in the Karskoe Sea, 1.5 km from the continent. Area, approximately 25 square km; maximum elevation, 50 m.

During a voyage down to the mouth of the Enisei and the Piasin River in the early 17th century, pomory (Russian inhabitants of the White Sea coast) probably discovered Dikson Island. In 1875, N. A. E. Nordenskjöld, who visited the island on the Proven, named its deeply indented bay on the eastern shore Dikson Harbor to honor the Swedish merchant who financed his expedition. In 1878, Nordenskjöld named the entire island after Dixon.

One of the first arctic radio stations was built on the island in 1915-16, and a hydrometeorological station began operation there in 1916. With these stations as a center, the first arctic radiometeorological center and geophysical observatory were constructed during the 1930’s on the Northern Sea Route.