Tucked away in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, Wrangel Island is a place of paradoxes—both a harsh, isolated landscape and a cradle of life. This remote Russian island, located between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most remarkable Arctic nature reserves. Despite its extreme environment, Wrangel Island has played a crucial role in the history of Arctic exploration, the survival of prehistoric species, and modern conservation efforts. The small neighboring island, Herald Island, is also a UNESCO World Heritage site (see map).
Wrangel Island belongs administratively to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Federation, which is the easternmost region of Russia. The island is home to a weather station at Blossom Point and previously hosted two Chukchi fishing settlements on its southern coast: Ushakovskoye and Zvyozdny, located along the shore of Doubtful Bay (Somnitelnaya Bay). These settlements, once vital to local subsistence and research, have since been abandoned, leaving Wrangel Island largely uninhabited today.
A Unique Ice Age Landscape
Wrangel Island is about 150 km (93mi) long from east to west and 80km (50mi) wide from north to south, spans approximately 7,600 square kilometers (2,900 square miles) and is located at a latitude of about 71°N and a longitude of 179°W. It is one of the few Arctic landmasses that remained unglaciated during the last Ice Age. Unlike much of the surrounding region, it was never covered by glaciers or submerged when the ice retreated. Scientists attribute this to the island’s arid climate, which limited snowfall and prevented the formation of large ice sheets, as well as its relatively low elevation and geographic position, which were less conducive to glaciation. This has left its soil and plant life largely undisturbed for thousands of years, preserving a unique Pleistocene tundra ecosystem. The island boasts over 400 plant species, making it the most botanically diverse Arctic Island.
A Sanctuary for Ice Age Giants
Wrangel Island is best known for being the last refuge of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). While most mammoth populations disappeared from the mainland around 10,000 years ago, a small group managed to survive on Wrangel until about 4,000 years ago—making them contemporaries of the Egyptian pyramids. Scientists believe that their isolation on the island helped them avoid extinction for millennia, though genetic bottlenecks and environmental changes eventually sealed their fate (see our quick fact on the Woolly Mammoth).
A Haven for Arctic Wildlife
Today, Wrangel Island is a stronghold for Arctic biodiversity. It hosts the world's highest density of polar bear dens, making it an essential site for the species’ survival. Walruses, musk oxen, and reindeer roam its tundra, while vast seabird colonies nest along its cliffs. The island’s location along migration routes makes it a crucial stopover for rare bird species, including the endangered spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea).
Among its unique fauna is the Wrangel Island brown lemming (Lemmus portenko), an endemic species and a key component of the island’s ecosystem. As a primary food source for Arctic predators like snowy owls and foxes, the brown lemming plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance on Wrangel Island.
Musk oxen, which were once extinct in this region, were successfully reintroduced to Wrangel Island in 1975. Since then, their population has grown to around 1,000 individuals, contributing to the island’s tundra ecology by grazing and maintaining plant diversity.
Domestic reindeer were introduced in the 1950s, and their numbers are managed at around 1,000 in an effort to reduce their impact on bird nesting grounds. Originally, they were brought to the island as part of an effort to establish commercial herding, intended to provide a sustainable livelihood for island residents.
A Harsh and Storied Past
While Wrangel Island has had periods of human habitation, permanent settlements have been rare and short-lived. However, its history is filled with dramatic tales of survival and exploration. Inuit people may have occasionally visited the island, but the first recorded sighting was by Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel, a Russian-German explorer, in 1820. As an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, von Wrangel conducted valuable research in glaciology, geomagnetics, and climatology. Based on reports of birds flying north of the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia, he correctly theorized the existence of an island in the Arctic Ocean. Although he led an expedition to locate it in the 1820s, he never found it. The island was later named in his honor.
Karluk expedition
One of the most dramatic episodes in Wrangel Island's history was the Karluk incident of 1914. The Karluk, the flagship of the Icelandic/Canadian explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson’s Arctic expedition, became trapped in ice in August 1913 and drifted for months before being crushed in January 1914. Shortly after the ship was trapped, Stefansson left the ship with a small party to hunt for caribou. The ice carried Karluk westwards and Stefansson did not return to ship. Upon reaching land, he focused on the scientific objectives of the expedition rather than attempting to return to the ship. The survivors, led by Captain Robert Bartlett, made a harrowing journey across the ice, eventually reaching Wrangel Island. Bartlett and an Inuit hunter set out for help, leaving the remaining crew to endure the brutal Arctic conditions. Tragically, 11 people perished, including 10 crew members and an Inuit child, before rescue arrived in September 1914, highlighting the island’s unforgiving environment. (see the location of the Karluk camp on the map)
Ada Blackjack on Wrangel Island
In 1921, a failed attempt to colonize Wrangel by Canadian settlers led to a tragic struggle against the Arctic elements. One of the most remarkable stories of human endurance linked to the island is that of Ada Blackjack. An Iñupiat woman of 23 years of age from Alaska, Blackjack joined an expedition led by the explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson as a seamstress, along with four men and a cat by the name of Vic. The men were Lorne Knight, Milton Galle, Fred Maurer, and Allan Crawford, two of them were veterans of the Karluk debacle but otherwise, they were young and inexperienced explorers.
When the expedition's men either perished or disappeared while seeking help, Blackjack remained on the island with one surviving member, Lorne Knight who was suffering from scurvy. She cared for him until he passed away, leaving her completely alone. For two months, she endured the Arctic's extreme conditions, relying on her resourcefulness and survival skills until she and the cat Vic were finally rescued in August 1923. Her story remains one of the most extraordinary accounts of Arctic survival (see location of the main camp and the winter camp on map).
Settlements on the island
The Soviet Government declared its sovereignty over Wrangel Island in 1926, establishing the village of Ushakovskoye on August 14 of that year. Led by explorer Georgy Ushakov, the expedition brought several Inuit families from the village of Ureliki in Chukotka to settle there.
The settlement grew steadily, reaching a population of around 180 people by the 1980s. It had essential infrastructure, including a school, post office, hospital, and a small natural history museum. A second village Zvyozdny (Star) was established 30 km west of Ushakovskoye (see map). However, economic difficulties in the 1990s led to the gradual abandonment of both settlements. By 1997, the remaining residents were relocated to Mys Shmidta in Chukotka, leaving Wrangel Island devoid of permanent human habitation. The last known resident, Vasilina Alpaun, tragically lost her life to a polar bear in 2003.
A Beacon for Conservation
Highly remote and believed to lack substantial fossil fuel reserves, Wrangel Island remains one of the Arctic’s most pristine ecosystems. Notably, it has no stabilized introduced plant species, preserving its native flora.
To safeguard its unique biodiversity, the Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve (Ostrov Vrangelya Zapovednik) was established in 1976. Today, much of the island is included in the Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve World Heritage Site.
Despite its isolation, Wrangel Island faces modern threats from climate change and human activity. As Arctic sea ice diminishes, new shipping routes are opening, increasing the risk of pollution and disturbance to its fragile ecosystem. Russian authorities have taken steps to protect the island, limiting access to researchers and select eco-tourists. Yet, the warming Arctic poses challenges that even Wrangel’s resilient wildlife may struggle to overcome.
An article written by Fanney Sigrún Ingvadóttir
Source: Visit Russia, Wikipedia (Last voyage of the Karluk), World Heritage Site, Wrangel Island, Canadian Geographic, Oceanwide
Map: Arctic Portal
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