| Cape Zhelaniya | |
| Other Name: | Russian: Мыс Желания |
| Type: | Cape |
| Map: | Russia |
| Location: | Arkhangelsk Oblast, |
| Water Bodies: | Barents Sea / Kara Sea |
| Coordinates: | 76.9545°N 68.5818°W |
Cape Zhelaniya (ru|Мыс Желания, ; being Russian for 'wish/desire') is a headland in the Russian Federation. It is an important geographical landmark. The area in the vicinity of the cape is a desolate place, exposed to bitter Arctic winters. The cape along with the surrounding part of Novaya Zemlya is protected as part of Russian Arctic National Park.[1]
Cape Zhelaniya is located at the northern end of Severny Island, the northern island of Novaya Zemlya. This headland is a geographic point of reference to mark the separation between the northern ends of the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea.[2]
It belongs administratively to the Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation.
The cape was named by Dutch explorer William Barents in 1595 as Dutch; Flemish: Den Hoeck der [[wikt:begeerte|Begeerte]], which means "Cape Desire".[3] [4]
There was a Soviet Arctic station in Cape Zhelaniya in World War II which was shelled by the Kriegsmarine during Operation Wunderland.[5]
It became a secret experimental station during the Cold War while a multitude of nuclear tests, including 88 atmospheric ones, were conducted in Novaya Zemlya. It functioned as a weather station until 1994, and since 2005 there has been an automatic meteorological station located here.[6] [7]