City of Murmansk
The central part of Murmansk. Panoramic view from Abram-Mys.
Murmansk is the biggest port in the Polar area of Russia, the world biggest city within the Arctic Circle. It is situated 300 km north of the Arctic Circle, among hills, on the coast of the ice-free Kola Bay, 50 km from the Barents Sea. The population of the city is about 337 000 people.
The city of Murmansk (founded on October, 4 in 1916) is the administrative centre of Murmansk region that occupies the Kola Peninsula. More than half of the area is unpopulated and covered with untouched forests, vast tundra, rapid rivers abundant with salmon and thousands of beautiful lakes. The region prides itself on its large mining and minerals companies. The Kola Peninsula is a unique, interesting and unusual area attracting tourists from all over the world. Arctic tourism has become very popular. The centre of Murmasnk is situated in latitude 69 North and in longitude 33 East. It is about 230 km to the border with Norway and Finland, about 1000 km to Tromsø, 1200 km to Saint Petersburg, 1967 km to Moscow, about 2300 km to the North Pole.
The climate is formed under the influence of warm and moist air of the Atlantic, which penetrates from the west, and the Arctic air, coming from the north. The air coming from the northern Atlantic brings wet and warm weather in winter and wet and cool weather in summer. The Arctic air, which is cold, clear and dry, brings fall of temperature, but in summer it gets warm very quickly. The average temperature in summer is +7º; +10ºC, but sometimes it could rise up to +20º; +25ºC. Winter temperature is usually from 0º to -8ºC, though it could fall to -20º; -25ºC. Winters 1998, 1999 surprised inhabitants with the recording low temperature -40ºC!
Kola Peninsula is the area of polar night and polar day. In the polar day the sun does not set 24 hours a day and it shines even at night. The polar night is the time when the sun does not appear above the horizon at all. The northerners do not see the sun for several months in winter. During dark period when the weather is clear Murmansk is a wonderful place for observation of the polar lights. It is a beautiful phenomenon of nature of the North when the winter dark sky is lit up with green, yellow, sometimes red light.
The central part of Murmansk. Panoramic view from Zelyoniy Mys
Photos by Anton SELEZNEV and Mikhail SMIRNYAKOV
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