Russia and the United States, at their closest points, are about 2.4 miles apart.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/diomede-islands
Despite being separated by just 3.8 kilometers, the Diomede Islands find themselves not only in different countries, but also twenty hours apart, due to the International Date Line passing between them.
The Diomede Islands are located in the middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia, which borders the Chukchi Sea to the north and the Bering Sea to the south. 9.3 km (5.8 mi) to the southeast is Fairway Rock, which is generally not considered part of the Diomede Islands. Because they are separated by the International Date Line, Big Diomede is almost a day ahead of Little Diomede, but not completely; due to locally defined time zones, Big Diomede is only 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (20 in summer).[2] Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede).
Additional information | |
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Demographics | |
Administration | |
Geography | |
Diomede Islands: Little Diomede (left) and Big Diomede (right). Picture taken looking southwards | |
Satellite photo of the Bering Strait, with the Diomede Islands at center | |
Location | Bering Strait |
Coordinates | 65°47′N 169°01′WCoordinates: 65°47′N 169°01′W |
Total islands | 2 |
Russia / United States | |
Population | 0 (Big Diomede) 135[1] (Little Diomede) (2011) |
Time zones |