Hall Island (Arctic)

The Hall Island (Russian Остров Галля, Ostrow Gallja ) is an island in the south of belonging to Russia Franz -Josef- Lands in the Arctic Ocean. The island is named after the American Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall.

Geography

With about 1049 km ² the Hall Island is the fifth largest island in the archipelago, whose highest point is specified with 502 m. Parts of the island throughout the year covered by ice. Two striking headlands are on the ice-free in summer south coast of the island: Cape Tegetthoff and Cape Frankfurt.

History

The island was officially discovered on 30 August 1873, the first island of the archipelago by the Austria - Hungarian North Pole expedition led by Julius Payer and Carl Weyprecht. On his second attempt to reach the North Pole, the American Walter Wellman established his base camp at Cape Tegetthoff 1898. The cape is named after Weyprecht expedition ship Admiral Tegetthoff, which in turn was named in honor of William of Tegetthoff, an admiral of the Austria - Hungarian Navy.