I love reading an article and repeating, “I didn’t know that.”
That’s what happened when I read a post about the Bering Strait from Alaska Life.
I know a little about the Bering Strait. I know it’s narrow and separates Russia from Alaska. I know that when sea level dropped, it became a land bridge, thus allowing animals and past humans to populate North America.
When I visited the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse, YT, I learned about all sorts of oversized animals that survived that far north because of a protected area that was not covered in ice.
What I didn’t know is that there are islands in the middle of the Bering Strait. If you want to know about them all, read the Alaska Life article (read it anyway because it has excellent maps.) Today, I want to talk about just a couple of those islands. Big Diomede and Little Diomede.
These two islands are located in the middle of the Bering Strait and are about two miles apart. Big Diomede Island is owned by Russia, and Little Diomede Island is owned by the United States. Since this are the closest point between these two countries, they really can see Russia from their homes.
Nobody lives on Big Diomede Island anymore, but the Russian Military still uses it. About 100 Native Alaskan live on Little Diomede Island.
Here is the most amazing part. The International Date Line goes between the two islands, so Big Diomede is twenty-one hours ahead of Little Diomede. Crazy!!! Big Diomede is sometimes called “Tomorrow Island,” and Little Diomede is called “Yesterday Isle.” That is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard.
Please read the article to learn more about these remote islands. It’s incredible where people choose to live. If you’re looking to get away from civilization, Alaska is still the place to go. I don’t want to live there, but I’m sure glad I visited.