No wonder that Arctic nature reserve bears the title ‘great’. How else is it possible to mark the vast area of Arctic desert and northern tundra with the area of 4169 thousand ha and 980 thousand ha of water area of severe lands of Arctic? It is the biggest nature reserve in Russia and the third in the world. Great Arctic state nature reserve also includes ‘Severozemelsky’ and ‘Brekhovskie islands’ nature reserves.

Location: the north of Krasnoyarsk Territory, on Taymyr peninsula. Coordinates: 75°30′N 92°36′E. The closest airport is in Dikson or Norilsk.

The nature reserve is divided into 7 zones: Cheluskin peninsula, Nizhnyaya Taymyra, Nordenscheld archipelago, Middendorf bay, Pyasinsky district, Kara Sea islands, Dixonsko-Sibiryakovskiy district.

Not far from Dixon there is a biological research station in the name of Willem Barentsz, where international groups of ornithologists. Since 1993 the nature reserve staff has been carrying security guard activities concerning habit area of brant geese, kuliks and other birds, migrating along the north-Atlantic way. The wintering habitations of these kinds are located on the territory of national park ‘Schleswig-Holstein Wattenmeer’, which is a partner of the Great Arctic one. By the way, bird-watching, a kind of eco-tourism, developing now, starts exactly at Barentsz station. 

Arctic air is not usual for an unprepared person, because it has little moist, low temperature and is extremely transparent. Coming to the south districts of Krasnoyarsk region, Khakassia and Tuva, it brings waves of cold.

The territory is very exotic and various in terms of geological structure: hill relief of Cheluskin peninsula (up to 400m), Northern Land archipelago, half of which is occupied by glaciers (the highest point on Karpinskiy ice cap on October Revolution Island is 965 m), free from glaciers land is occupied by arctic stone deserts and arctic tundra.

The glaciers of the Northern Land islands are 17 complexes, which include 287 glaciers with total area of 18325 sq. km. The largest glaciers are – Academy of Science, Rusanov, Karpinskiy, University, Vavilov, Leningrad, Kropotkin, Semenov-Tyanshan.

In winter life almost stops in arctic deserts. White polar bear (red-listed in Russian Federation) is the largest raptor of Krasnoyarsk region, inhabits the coast of the reserve. On the Northern Land islands there is a habit area of its Taimyr population. On the islands of Kara Sea Atlantic walrus can be seldom seen (red-listed in Russian Federation). Polar fox, weasel, eared seal, polar wolf visit these places mostly during migration. Many thousands of deer go across the territory of the reserve, and on the island of Sibiryakov the reserve staff created its unique population.

In summer on the coast there are a lot of birds – thick-billed murre, black guillemot, seagull, ducks, then further inland there are sandpiper, common ringed plover, ruddy turnstone, curlew sandpiper. Water bodies are full of exotic for a south person fish: Arctic cisco, Siberian white salmon, cisco, broad whitefish, Siberian sturgeon etc.

Poor vegetation doesn’t provide herbivorous animal with food. There are many kinds of lichen over stone surfaces, and in summer northern flowers.

The majority of the area is not visited by men, as it is located far away from settlements. Exactly here researchers have an opportunity to see the nature as it is.