Taymyr Peninsula

Taymyr Peninsula or Taimyr Peninsula both: tīmĭrˈ [key], northernmost projection of Siberia, N Krasnoyarsk Territory, N central Siberian Russia, between the estuaries of the Yenisei and Khatanga rivers and extending into the Arctic Ocean. Cape Chelyuskin at the tip of the peninsula is the northernmost point of the Asian mainland. The peninsula, covered mostly with tundra and drained by the Taymyra River, was formerly most of the Taymyr Autonomous Area, 332,857 sq mi (862,100 sq km); the region also included the islands between the Yenisei and Khatanga gulfs, the northern parts of the Central Siberian Plateau, and the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. The capital was Dudinka. The economy of the area depends on mineral and oil extraction, fishing, and dairy and fur farming as well as such traditional activities as reindeer raising and trapping. Formed in 1930, the autonomous area was merged into Krasnoyarsk Territory in 2007; some residents have sought restoration of the autonomous area because of the remoteness of the area from the territory's capital.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: CIS and Baltic Physical Geography