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26-615: The Taymyra is the most northerly river system of its size or greater, the largest river whose basin is wholly north of the Arctic Circle , and also the largest with a basin lying entirely above the polar tree line . This Krasnoyarsk Krai location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in the Russian Far East is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle

52-719: A geologist settlement was established by the coal field, with most of the workers being inmates of the Ukhta-Pechora Camp of the GULAG (Ухтпечлаг, Ukhtpechlag ). The origins of the town of Vorkuta are associated with Vorkutlag , one of the most notorious forced-labour camps of the Gulag . Vorkutlag was established in 1932 with the start of mining. It was the largest of the Gulag camps in European Russia and served as

78-538: A year. The town is served by Vorkuta Airport . During the Cold War , an Arctic Control Group forward staging base for strategic bombers was located at Vorkuta Sovetsky . Vorkuta has a subarctic climate ( Köppen Dfc ) with short cool summers and very cold, long, and snowy winters. The average February temperature is about −20 °C (−4 °F), and in July it is about +13 °C (55 °F). Vorkuta's climate

104-524: Is visible at local midnight , and at least once the centre is not visible at local noon . Directly on the Arctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at the June and December solstices , respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages , and also because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun is visible, on the night of

130-736: Is influenced both by its distance from the North Atlantic and the proximity to the Arctic Ocean , bringing cold air in spring. This extends winters well into May and hinders the characteristic interior Russian summer warmth from reaching the city but for rare instances. In spite of this, Vorkuta has less severe winters than areas a lot further south in Siberia courtesy of the minor maritime moderation that reaches it. This also means that temperatures below −50 °C (−58 °F) have never been recorded in any winter month but December. During

156-700: Is one of the two polar circles , and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle . The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the winter solstice (which is the shortest day of the year) in the Northern Hemisphere , the Sun will not rise all day, and on the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice (which

182-510: Is the longest day of the year), the Sun will not set. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and the further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk , three degrees above the Arctic Circle, the Sun does not rise above the horizon for 40 successive days in midwinter. The position of

208-505: The Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at the river Vorkuta . In 2010, its population was 70,548, down from 84,917 in 2002. Vorkuta is the fourth largest city north of the Arctic Circle and the easternmost town in Europe . It is also the coldest city in all of Europe, boasting a record cold temperature of −52 °C (−61 °F). Vorkuta's population has dropped steadily since

234-548: The Arctic Ocean , the Scandinavian Peninsula , North Asia , Northern America , and Greenland. The land within the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States ( Alaska ), Canada ( Yukon , Northwest Territories , and Nunavut ), Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland (where it passes through the small offshore island of Grímsey ). The climate north of

260-506: The Greek word ἀρκτικός ( arktikos : "near the Bear , northern") and that from the word ἄρκτος ( arktos : " bear "). The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the centre of the Sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Arctic Circle the centre of the Sun

286-436: The districts . As a municipal division , the town of republic significance of Vorkuta is incorporated as Vorkuta Urban Okrug . By the early 21st century, many mines had closed as problems with the high costs of operation plagued the mine operators. Near the end of the 20th century there were labor actions in the area by miners; in the late '80s due to political changes, and during the '90s by those who had not been paid for

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312-537: The fall of the Soviet Union , when mines were privatized and many people began moving farther south. Many of the mines have been abandoned and by September 2020, the city's estimated population was only about 50,000. A report in March 2021 described the villages in the area as "ghost towns" with many "abandoned structures". In 1930, the geologist Georgy Chernov (1906–2009) discovered substantial coal fields by

338-634: The municipality of the urban district of Vorkuta . The rest, in his opinion, are registered by registration but have already moved to the regions of Russia south of the Arctic Circle . One way or another, Vorkuta is the leading city in the Komi Republic and Russia in terms of population reduction. One of the largest coal mine disasters in Russia occurred at Vorkuta coal mine on 28 February 2016, when leaking methane gas ignited and killed 32 people, including 26 trapped miners who had been stranded by

364-526: The Arctic Circle is generally cold, but the coastal areas of Norway have a generally mild climate as a result of the Gulf Stream , which makes the ports of northern Norway and northwest Russia ice-free all year long. In the interior, summers can be quite warm, while winters are extremely cold. For example, summer temperatures in Norilsk , Russia will sometimes reach as high as 30 °C (86 °F), while

390-589: The Arctic Circle is not fixed and currently runs 66°33′50.2″ north of the Equator . Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt , which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, owing to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon . Consequently, the Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. The word arctic comes from

416-604: The Arctic Circle with about 5,000 inhabitants. The largest such community in Canada is Inuvik in the Northwest Territories , with 3,137 inhabitants. Download coordinates as: The Arctic Circle is roughly 16,000 km (9,900 mi) in circumference. The area north of the Circle is about 20,000,000 km (7,700,000 sq mi) and covers roughly 4% of Earth's surface. The Arctic Circle passes through

442-413: The Arctic Circle, lying 6 km (4 mi) south of the line. Salekhard (51,186) in Russia is the only city in the world located directly on the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut ( Greenland ), has approximately 5,600 inhabitants. In the United States, Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow) is the largest settlement north of

468-419: The administrative centre for a large number of smaller camps and subcamps, among them Kotlas , Pechora , and Izhma (modern Sosnogorsk ). The Vorkuta uprising , a major rebellion by the camp inmates, occurred in 1953. In 1941, Vorkuta and the labour camp system based around it were connected to the rest of the world by a prisoner-built rail line linking Konosha , Kotlas , and the camps of Inta . Town status

494-471: The edge of the continuous permafrost boundary in Russia, and scientists predict that continued warming could advance the border of continuous permafrost hundreds of miles northward, weakening the earth beneath the vast infrastructure built during the days of the Soviet Union's industrialization of the Arctic. After peaking at 115,000 in 1989, Vorkuta experienced a steady population decline, with many parts of

520-411: The northern summer solstice , at a latitude of about 50 minutes of arc (′) (90 km (56 mi)) south of the Arctic Circle. Similarly, on the day of the northern winter solstice , part of the Sun may be seen up to about 50′ north of the Arctic Circle. That is true at sea level ; those limits increase with elevation above sea level , although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of

546-696: The river Vorkuta . Georgy Chernov's father, the geologist Alexander Chernov (1877–1963), promoted the development of the Pechora coal basin , which included the Vorkuta fields. With this discovery the coal-mining industry started in the Komi ASSR . (At the time only the southern parts of the field were included in the Komi ASSR. The northern part, including Vorkuta, belonged to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast .) In 1931,

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572-474: The town abandoned. By 2021, the population had declined by 50% to 57,000. As of the 2021 Census , the ethnic composition of Vorkuta was: According to the former head of the executive committee of the local branch of the United Russia party, Anton Glushkov, the city's population statistics are very different from the real state of affairs. According to him, "25,000 to 35,000 people" allegedly live in

598-516: The true horizon. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway, and Sweden: Murmansk (population 295,374) and Norilsk (178,018) in Russia; Tromsø (75,638) in Norway, Vorkuta (58,133) in Russia, Bodø (52,357) and Harstad (24,703) in Norway; and Kiruna , Sweden (22,841). Rovaniemi (62,667) in Finland is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of

624-473: The winter temperatures frequently fall below −50 °C (−58 °F). Starting at the prime meridian and heading eastwards, the Arctic Circle passes through: Vorkuta Vorkuta ( Russian : Воркута́ ; Komi : Вӧркута , romanized:  Vörkuta ; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal -mining town in the Komi Republic , Russia , situated just north of

650-429: The winter, above-freezing temperatures are rare, but have occurred in all 12 months. With winters being humid, snowfall is a lot more common than in areas further east and a sizeable snow pack is built up each year. Due to the moderately warm summers, Vorkuta lies below the Arctic tree line . The polar day in Vorkuta lasts from 30 May to 14 July, the polar night lasts from 17 December to 27 December. Vorkuta lies on

676-416: Was granted to Vorkuta on November 26, 1943. Within the framework of administrative divisions , it is, together with eight urban-type settlements ( Komsomolsky , Mulda , Oktyabrsky , Promyshlenny , Severny , Vorgashor , Yeletsky , and Zapolyarny ) and seven rural localities , incorporated as the town of republic significance of Vorkuta —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of

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