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Kara Sea Facts

Kara Sea Facts
The Kara Sea is located to the north of Siberia as part of the Arctic Ocean. It is separated by Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Strait from the Barents Sea. It is separated from the Laptev Sea by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. The Kara Sea and Kara River were named from the Tatar word meaning 'black', and which also symbolizes 'north'. The Kara River was important historically for its role in helping the Russians to conquer northern Siberia. The Kara Sea covers an area of 358,000 square miles and has an average depth of 430 feet.
Interesting Kara Sea Facts:
The Kara Sea is approximately 970 KM wide and 1,450 KM long.
The Kara Sea remains frozen for three-quarters of the year due to its colder water currents.
Freshwater running into the Kara Sea is mainly from the Taimyra River, the Pyasina River, the Yenisei River, and the Ob River. This freshwater contributes to varying salinity in the Kara Sea.
The main ports of the Kara Sea include Dikson Port and Novy Port.
Despite being frozen most of the year the Kara Sea remains an important fishing ground.
The largest group of islands in the Kara Sea are the Nordenskiold Archipelago. This archipelago contains more than 90 islands in 5 subgroups.
Other groups of islands in the Kara Sea include the Izvesti Tsik Islands, Uedineniya Island, the Kirov Islands, Vize Island, Voronina Island, and the Arkticheskiy Islands.
Important islands in Kara Sea include Oleni Island, Kammennyye Island, Dikson Island, Bely Island, and Taymyr Island.
The only glaciated island in the Kara Sea is Ushakov Island.
The former Soviet Union dumped nuclear waste in the Kara Sea and there are concerns about the impact this will create on the marine life.
Between 1965 and 1988 the Soviet Union is known to have dumped ten nuclear reactors, and six nuclear submarine reactors into the Kara Sea.
The Kara Sea is part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve, established in 1993. This reserve is the largest of its kind in Russia and includes the Kara Sea islands section of 4,000 square KM.
The Kara Sea is also known by the names Karskoje More, Karskoe, or Karskoye.
It is believed that the Kara Sea was formed during the last ice age.
The Kara Sea is considered one of the world's coldest seas. The maximum temperature that it reaches is 16 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature that the Kara Sea reaches is -46 degrees Celsius.
The main exports shipped from the Kara Sea include furs, food products, timber, and other building material, as well as fish during the two months the sea is not frozen over.
Wildlife that can be found in the Kara Sea includes the polar bear, billfishes, tuna, cod, sharks, salmon, molluscs and rays.
Natural gas and petroleum reserves have been discovered near the Ob and Yensey rivers which may contribute to further development in the area.
Because of the interest in natural gas and petroleum the Russian government is looking at removing the nuclear waste in the Kara Sea.


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