Why it Takes 15 Days to get from Little to Big Diomede Islands in AK Which are 2 Miles Apart

[donaldsc]

Interesting tidbit about AK.  Little Diomede Island and Big Diomede Islands in AK are 2 miles apart but it takes 15 days to get from one island to the other.  This interesting article tells why - https://www.intheknow.com/post/diomede-islands-alaska-russia-travel-ice-bridge/

 

DON

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

Interesting tidbit about AK.  Little Diomede Island and Big Diomede Islands in AK are 2 miles apart but it takes 15 days to get from one island to the other.  This interesting article tells why - https://www.intheknow.com/post/diomede-islands-alaska-russia-travel-ice-bridge/

 

DON

 

Very interesting!  Often what seems so simple can become so complex!  Thanks for posting this.  

[GTJ]

It was in 2008 that then-candidate Sarah Palin said that "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska," meaning this very two-mile divide between the two Diomede islands. (Later, actress Tina Fey said, "I can see Russia from my house," referring to the house of Mrs. Palin in Wasilla, or possibly the governor's mansion in Juneau, neither of which, of course, would have such view; Mrs. Fey's quote has been frequently misattributed to Mrs. Palin.) In the winter, one can walk between the United States and Russia when the divide is frozen over. A few people have done so, notwithstanding this crossing not being lawful--and hence the purported fifteen-day "legal" travel time--including one Mexican national in 1987 who was the subject of a report by the Associated Press on his adventure.