Day 22: Boundaries - Diomede Islands (Russia/United States)

Mapping The American – Russian Maritime Boundary in the Bering Strait

Today’s mapping challenge theme is around boundaries. For my project, I decided to highlight an obscure maritime border between the Russian Federation and United States. The border I am referring to runs between Big Diomede Island (Russian) and Little Diomede Island (American), two small islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between the Russian mainland and Alaska. Big Diomede Island is within the Russian autonomous district of Chukotka and Little Diomede Island is a part of the American state of Alaska. The islands are less than 3 miles (or roughly 4.8 kilometers) from each other. Standing from the shore of one island, you can see the other.

Photo Credit: Dave Cohoe, Wikimedia Commons

After World War 2, the indigenous Iñupiat residents Big Diomede Island were forcibly relocated to the Russian mainland. During the height of the Cold War, this border was referred to as “The Ice Curtain” and movement along it was tightly controlled. Today, Big Diomede Island is only inhabited by Russian military personnel, while a small Iñupiat community remains on Little Diomede Island.

The border between the two islands remains highly restricted and direct access between the islands is not permitted. To reach the Russian owned Big Diomede Island from Little Diomede Island, one would need to travel to the Russian mainland and travel from one of two port cities: Anadyr or Provideniya.

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