Diomede is a small village with a population of 135 on the island of Little Diomede in the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia. In fact, Little Diomede is only a couple of kilometers from Big Diomede which is the Eastern most point of Russia. From Diomede, when the weather is right, you can quite literally see Russia to the West. And in the winter when the strait freezes between the two islands you can walk from the United States to Russia. The International Date Line is less than a kilometer west of Diomede so a walk across the ice to Big Diomede would mean travelling back in time by a day.
It's hard to comprehend the remoteness of this place and yet it is part of the United States. Obviously there are no roads and or airport here. Most people come and go by helicopter. In the winter, an airstrip is ploughed on the ice for small planes to land which means mail delivery in the Winter is more regular than in the Summer. Diomede receives mail about once a week.
2 comments:
when I was a wee lad in Kotzebue, Alaska, Little Diomeders would come with their skin boats for the summer. They pitched a whole bunch of whitewall tents outside our house. I would like to post this pic on my Facebook page if it is ok with you (the one of Little Diomede)...
Of course you can use this image. But you might want to get it from the original source instead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Diomede_Island_village.jpeg
It is in the public domain.
Post a Comment