Misplaced Pages

#138861

47-664: The Diomede Islands are located in the middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia . If marginal seas are considered, then they are the northernmost islands within the entire Pacific Ocean. To the north is the Chukchi Sea and to the south is the Bering Sea . Fairway Rock , 9.3 km (5.8 mi) to the southeast, is also Alaskan, but generally not seen as part of the Diomede Islands. Because they are separated by

94-533: A Franco-American syndicate represented by de Lobel to begin work on the Trans-Siberian Alaska railroad project, but no physical work ever commenced. Suggestions have been made to construct a Bering Strait bridge between Alaska and Siberia. Despite the unprecedented engineering, political, and financial challenges, Russia green-lit a US$ 65-billion TKM-World Link tunnel project in August 2011. If completed,

141-485: A comprehensive survey was undertaken by the Department of Internal Affairs. Public attitudes towards NZDT (New Zealand Daylight Time) and its effects on work, recreation and particular groups of people in society were surveyed. The survey indicated that 76.2% of the population wanted NZDT either continued or extended. The survey also concluded that opinion on the topic differed little between sexes, and that support for NZDT

188-451: A standard time to be observed nationally, and was the first country to do so, about fifteen years before any other. Chatham Island was 45 minutes ahead of mainland New Zealand [twelve hours and fifteen minutes ahead of Coordinated Universal Time]. It was based on longitude 172° 30′ East of Greenwich , 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This standard was known as New Zealand Mean Time (NZMT). In 1941, during

235-526: A team of 65 swimmers from 17 countries performed a relay swim across the Bering Strait, the first such swim in history. They swam from Cape Dezhnev, Russia, to Cape Prince of Wales , United States (roughly 110 kilometers (68 mi), due to the current). They had direct support from the Russian Navy, using one of its ships, and assistance with permission. A physical link between Asia and North America via

282-527: A trial period of extended NZDT to be held from the second Sunday in October 1989 to the third Sunday in March 1990. The Minister invited the public to write to him with their views on the five-week extension. The Daylight Time Order 1990 declared that NZDT would run from 02:00 NZST on the first Sunday in October to 03:00 NZDT on the third Sunday in March. On 30 April 2007 the government announced that it had extended

329-702: Is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska . The present Russia - United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' 37" W longitude , slightly south of the Arctic Circle at about 65° 40' N latitude . The Strait is named after Vitus Bering , a Danish-born Russian explorer. The Bering Strait has been

376-404: Is centered on the west side of the island at the village of Diomede . Big Diomede Island is the easternmost point of Russia. The Diomede Islands are often mentioned as likely intermediate stops for the hypothetical bridge or tunnel ( Bering Strait crossing ) spanning the Bering Strait . During winter, an ice bridge usually spans the distance between these two islands. At these times, it

423-557: Is theoretically possible (although not legal, since travel between the two islands is forbidden) to walk between the United States and Russia. The first European to reach the Bering Strait was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. He reported two islands whose natives had bone lip ornaments, but it is not certain that these were the Diomedes. Danish navigator Vitus Bering re-discovered

470-551: The 2010 census , entirely in the village site on the west side of the island, though the island as a whole comprises the city of Diomede. This village has a school, a post office and a store. Some residents are famous for their ivory carving . When weather permits, commercial air contact is maintained with the island as part of the US Essential Air Service . Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( Russian : Берингов пролив , romanized :  Beringov proliv )

517-619: The Alaska Purchase uses the islands to designate the boundary between the two nations: the border separates "equidistantly Krusenstern Island, or Ignaluk, from Ratmanov Island, or Nunarbuk, and heads northward infinitely until it disappears completely in the Arctic Ocean." During the Cold War , that gap constituted the border between the United States and the Soviet Union , and became known as

SECTION 10

#1732845383139

564-567: The International Date Line , Big Diomede is almost a day ahead of Little Diomede, but not completely; due to locally defined time zones, Big Diomede is only 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (20 in summer). Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede). The islands are named for the Greek Saint Diomedes ; Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering sighted

611-570: The North American continent . Its deepest point is only 90 m (300 ft) in depth. It borders the Chukchi Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean ) to the north and the Bering Sea to the south. The strait is a unique habitat sparsely populated by the Yupik , Inuit , and Chukchi people who have cultural and linguistic ties to each other. From at least 1562, European geographers thought that there

658-518: The atomic clock was developed and several laboratories began atomic time scales. A new time scale known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) was adopted internationally in 1972. This was based on the readings of atomic clocks, updated periodically in accordance with time variations in the Earth's rotation by the addition or deletion of seconds (called leap seconds ). The Time Act 1974 defines New Zealand Standard Time as 12 hours in advance of UTC. In 2011,

705-569: The governor-general to declare by Order in Council a period when daylight saving time is to be observed. This was a one-hour shift (on top of the earlier half-hour shift) from the first Sunday in November to the last Sunday in February, promptly changed the next year by The New Zealand Time Order 1975 which fixed the period of observance from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in March. In 1985

752-556: The " Ice Curtain ". In 1987, however, Lynne Cox swam from one island to the other, and was congratulated by both Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan for her feat. In summer 1995, British television actor and documentary presenter Michael Palin started his counterclockwise circumnavigation of the Pacific Rim , encompassing 18 countries, on Little Diomede Island, as part of the BBC series Full Circle . He intended to set foot on it again at

799-460: The "Ice Curtain". It was completely closed, and there was no regular passenger air or boat traffic. Since 2012, the Russian coast of the Bering Strait has been a closed military zone . Through organized trips and the use of special permits, it is possible for foreigners to visit. All arrivals must be through an airport or a cruise port, near the Bering Strait only at Anadyr or Provideniya . Unauthorized travelers who arrive on shore after crossing

846-531: The 103-kilometer (64 mi) tunnel would be the world's longest. China considered construction of a "China-Russia-Canada-America" railroad line that would include construction of a 200-kilometer-long (120 mi) underwater tunnel that would cross the Bering Strait. In 1956, the Soviet Union proposed to the US a joint bi-national project to warm the Arctic Ocean and melt some of the ice cap. As designed by Petr Borisov,

893-525: The Bering Strait by removing St. Lawrence Island and parts of Seward and Chukotski Peninsulas . A strait 320 kilometers (200 mi) wide would let the Japan Current melt the Arctic Ocean. In the 21st century, a 300-kilometer (190 mi) dam has also been proposed. However, the aim of the proposal is to preserve the Arctic ice cap against global warming. During the Cold War , the Bering Strait marked

940-454: The Bering Strait nearly became a reality in 1864 when a Russian-American telegraph company began preparations for an overland telegraph line connecting Europe and America via the east. It was abandoned when the undersea Atlantic Cable proved successful. A further proposal for a bridge-and-tunnel link from eastern Russia to Alaska was made by French engineer Baron Loicq de Lobel in 1906. Czar Nicholas II of Russia issued an order authorising

987-526: The Diomede Islands on 16 August ( O.S. , 27 August N.S. ) 1728, the day on which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the saint. The islands are separated by an international border, which also defines the International Date Line in that area, about 2 km (1.2 mi) from each island, at 168°58'37"W. At their closest points, the two islands are about 3.8 km (2.4 mi) apart. The small habitation on Little Diomede Island

SECTION 20

#1732845383139

1034-479: The Diomede Islands while leading a Russian expedition on 16 August (O.S., 26 August N.S.) 1728, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the martyr St. Diomede (hence, the name of the islands). In 1732, a Russian geodesist , Mikhail Gvozdev , determined longitude and latitude for the two islands. The text of the 1867 treaty between the United States and Russia which finalized

1081-549: The International Date Line was moved to the east of Kiribati and that country's easternmost time zone ( GMT+14 ) is now the world's earliest. After they established a military base there in 1948, the Soviet government relocated the indigenous population of Big Diomede Island to mainland Russia. The island is now inhabited only by military units. Little Diomede had an Inupiat population of 170, which had declined to 115 at

1128-627: The New Zealand dependency of Tokelau moved its time zone forward by 24 hours, by skipping 30 December to be in the UTC+13:00 time zone, the same zone as New Zealand daylight saving. Starting in 1909, a member of Parliament, Sir Thomas Kay Sidey annually put forward a bill to advance the clocks an hour from September to the following March and the Summer Time Act 1927 succeeded. In 1927, clocks were advanced by an hour from first Sunday in November to

1175-574: The Second World War, clocks were advanced half an hour, to reduce electric power use making New Zealand 12 hours ahead of GMT. This change was made permanent from 1946 by the Standard Time Act 1945 , at which the time at the 180°E meridian was made the basis for New Zealand Time. NZST remained half an hour ahead of NZMT, and the Chatham Islands 45 minutes ahead of NZST. In the late 1940s

1222-421: The Soviet Union in 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) water during the last years of the Cold War . She was congratulated jointly by American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . In June and July 1989, three independent teams attempted the first modern sea-kayak crossing of the Bering Strait. The groups were: seven Alaskans, who called their effort Paddling Into Tomorrow (i.e. crossing

1269-569: The Soviet plan by arguing that while the plan was feasible, it would compromise NORAD and thus the dam could be built at only an immense cost. Soviet scientist D. A. Drogaytsev also opposed the idea, stating that the sea north of the dam and north-flowing rivers in Siberia would become unnavigable year round, and the Gobi and other deserts would be extended to the northern Siberia coastline. American Charles P. Steinmetz (1865–1923) earlier proposed to widen

1316-568: The Soviet project called for a 90-kilometer-wide (56 mi) dam across the Bering Strait. It would block the cold Pacific current from entering the Arctic. By pumping low-salinity cold surface water across the dam to the Pacific, warmer and higher salinity sea water from the Atlantic Ocean would be introduced into the Arctic Ocean. However, citing national security concerns, the CIA and FBI experts opposed

1363-560: The arrangement presumably makes real time communications with New Zealand more practical, particularly in dealing with offices. The other countries in the Realm of New Zealand – Cook Islands , Niue , and Tokelau – do not maintain DST. Two of them are on the other side of the International Date Line and have 22–24 hours time difference to New Zealand. The following table lists recent and near future starting and ending dates of daylight saving time in

1410-525: The border between the Soviet Union and the United States . The Diomede Islands — Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (US)—are only 3.8 km (2.4 mi) apart. Traditionally, the indigenous people in the area had frequently crossed the border back and forth for "routine visits, seasonal festivals and subsistence trade", but were prevented from doing so during the Cold War. The border became known as

1457-569: The crossing on Sea-Doos but were arrested and permitted to return to Alaska on their Sea-Doos after being briefly detained in Lavrentiya , the administrative center of the Chukotsky District . They were treated well and given a tour of the village's museum, but not permitted to continue south along the Pacific coast. The men had visas but the western coast of the Bering Strait is a closed military zone . Between August 4 and 10 (US time), 2013,

Diomede Islands - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-576: The daylight saving period from 24 to 27 weeks. From September 2007, daylight saving is now observed from the last Sunday in September until the first Sunday in April. From 30 April 2007, DST begins at 02:00 NZST on the last Sunday in September each year, and ends at 03:00 NZDT (or 02:00 NZST as defined in the 1974 Act) on the first Sunday in April. New Zealand time, including DST, is used by several Antarctic bases that are supplied from New Zealand. This results in

1551-602: The end of his eight-month trek, but was unable to do so because of rough seas. Big Diomede Island was traditionally the easternmost landmass before the International Date Line, and the first landmass to ring in a new year, if using local solar time . When using official time, however, a large area in eastern Russia and New Zealand also share the same time zone. New Zealand also has daylight saving time in effect during late December, but Russia does not (see time in New Zealand and time in Russia ). This became moot in 1995, however, when

1598-409: The first Sunday in March. This proved unpopular, so the Summer Time Act 1928 revised this to a half -hour shift from 14 October 1928 (second Sunday) to 17 March 1929 (third Sunday), then the Summer Time Act 1929 permanently fixed this half-hour shift to run from the second Sunday in October to the third Sunday in March every year. In 1933, the period was extended from the first Sunday in September to

1645-566: The international dateline); a four-man British expedition, Kayaks Across the Bering Strait ; and a team of Californians in a three-person baidarka , led by Jim Noyes (who launched his ambitious expedition as a paraplegic). Accompanying the Californians was a film crew in a umiak, a walrus-skin boat traditional to the region; they were filming the 1991 documentary Curtain of Ice , directed by John Armstrong. In March 2006, Briton Karl Bushby and French-American adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed

1692-510: The interruption of the first by bad weather. In February 2012, a Korean team led by Hong Sung-Taek crossed the straits on foot in six days. They started from Chukotka Peninsula, the east coast of Russia on February 23 and arrived in Wales, the western coastal town in Alaska on February 29. In July 2012, six adventurers associated with "Dangerous Waters", a reality adventure show under production, made

1739-402: The last Sunday in April. This continued until the Second World War, when emergency regulations in 1941 extended daylight saving to cover the whole year with annual re-applications until the Standard Time Act 1945 made the abandonment of NZMT permanent in 1946, so that 180° becomes the base longitude and what was called NZ Summer Time (NZST) became NZ Standard Time. The Time Act 1974 empowered

1786-526: The last Sunday in September until the first Sunday in April – daylight saving time is observed and clocks are advanced one hour. New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) is 13 hours ahead of UTC, and Chatham Daylight Time (CHADT) 13 hours 45 minutes ahead. New Zealand's associated states – the Cook Islands and Niue – and the dependent territory of Tokelau use several different time zones at their own discretion. On 2 November 1868, New Zealand officially adopted

1833-757: The main islands of New Zealand: New Zealand standard time is maintained by the Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL), part of New Zealand Government . New Zealand standard time is based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC is kept within 200 nanoseconds of the international atomic time scale maintained by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris. It is disseminated by various means, including time pips broadcast on Radio New Zealand , speaking clock and Network Time Protocol . There are two associated states of New Zealand in

1880-479: The most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least the early 20th century. The Bering Strait is about 82 kilometers (51 mi) wide at its narrowest point, between Cape Dezhnev , Chukchi Peninsula , Russia , the easternmost point (169° 39' W) of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales , Alaska , United States, the westernmost point (168° 05' W) of

1927-512: The oddity that the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station sets its clocks an hour further ahead during the southern summer, when the sun is constantly above the horizon, than in the southern winter, when the sun is constantly below the horizon. The extreme geographic position of the base means that no possible adjustment of the daily activity cycle can have any effect on the amount of sunlight received during those activities. However,

Diomede Islands - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-461: The strait by 1847. In March 1913, Captain Max Gottschalk (German) crossed from the east cape of Siberia to Shishmaref, Alaska , on dogsled via Little and Big Diomede islands. He was the first documented modern voyager to cross from Russia to North America without the use of a boat. In 1987, swimmer Lynne Cox swam a 4.3-kilometer (2.7 mi) course between the Diomede Islands from Alaska to

2021-415: The strait on foot, walking across a frozen 90-kilometer (56 mi) section in 15 days. They were soon arrested for not entering Russia through a regular port of entry. August 2008 marked the first crossing of the Bering Strait using an amphibious road-going vehicle. The specially modified Land Rover Defender 110 was driven by Steve Burgess and Dan Evans across the straits on its second attempt following

2068-598: The strait, even those with visas, may be arrested, imprisoned briefly, fined, deported and banned from future visas. Time in New Zealand Time in New Zealand is divided by law into two standard time zones . The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) / military M (Mike), while the outlying Chatham Islands use Chatham Standard Time (CHAST), 12 hours 45 minutes in advance of UTC / military M^ (Mike-Three). During summer months – from

2115-449: The subject of the scientific theory that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been the dominant one for several decades and continues to be

2162-416: Was a Strait of Anián between Asia and North America. In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov probably passed through the strait, but his report did not reach Europe. Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering entered it in 1728. In 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev crossed it for the first time, from Asia to America. It was visited in 1778 by the third voyage of James Cook . American vessels were hunting for bowhead whales in

2209-457: Was generally higher in urban centres . Daylight saving was famously opposed in the small Northland dairy farming community of Ararua, which refused to adjust its clocks for some years. Support for shortening or abolishing NZDT was always in the minority in the areas surveyed. As a consequence of the survey and further feedback from the public, in 1988 the Minister of Internal Affairs arranged for

#138861