The globe is full of curiosities and . One of them is so peculiar that it belongs to two countries as powerful as the United States and Russia. They are the Diomede Islands, two lands that are in the middle of the Bering Strait, between the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea.
The Diomede Islands comprise two territories. One is known as Greater Diomede, the western island that belongs to Russia, while the eastern island known as Lesser Diomede, inhabited by the Eskimo community, corresponds to Alaska (United States).
Between the two islands passes the international date line, which is characterized by being a line that not only separates time in hours, but in a full day. In this case, between one island and another, almost four kilometers away from each other (3.7 km.), They are separated by 21 hours. The peculiarity of these islands means that, in the middle of the Bering Strait, there are Americans who can literally see Russia from their homes.
In Diómedes Mayor, whose approximate extension is 30 km2, there is no civilian population, but there is a military base, a polar station and a border guard post. It is administered by the Chukotka District and is located in a time zone 21 hours ahead of Lesser Diomede.
For its part, Diomede Minor has a population of 83 people, according to the 2020 census. Most of them are Chukchis, the native ethnic group of the Chukchi peninsula, in the far east of Russia. They basically live by fishing for salmon and crabs (a highly valued delicatessen, subject to strict annual quotas), and by hunting bears, seals and walrus (which is allowed to the indigenous people).
Some archaeologists believe that Diomedes Minor is over 3,000 years old. It was originally a hunting place and little by little it was inhabited as a permanent settlement. Western explorers found that the local Eskimos had a structured culture, practicing elaborate ceremonies around whaling.
How to get
Traveling to the Diomede Islands can become a real odyssey. So far, the only way to get there is by helicopter. Specifically, as Business Insider reports, the airline Pathfinder Aviation offers helicopter tours from Nome, on the west coast of Alaska. These include emergency flights, which the company says are available 24 hours a day.
In winter, the sea freezes and the islands are joined by ice, so they can be crossed on foot, by snowmobile or on skis. However, this practice is illegal due to the absence of customs. As a curiosity, the Bering Air company suspended flights to this island after a storm broke the frozen runway in 2018.
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