Diomede Islands
island group in the Bering Strait
The Diomede Islands (; Russian: острова́ Диоми́да, romanized: ostrova Diomida), also known in Russia as Gvozdev Islands (Russian: острова́ Гво́здева, romanized: ostrova Gvozdeva), consist of two rocky, mesa-like islands. One is the Russian island of Big Diomede (part of Chukotka). The other is the U.S. island of Little Diomede (part of Alaska). The Diomede Islands are located in the middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia. At their closest points, the two islands are approximately 2.4 miles (3.8 km) away from each other.
Because they are separated by the International Date Line, Big Diomede is almost a day ahead of Little Diomede; due to locally defined time zones, Big Diomede is 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (20 in summer). Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede).
Etymology
The islands are named for the Greek Saint Diomedes; Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering sighted the Diomede Islands on 16 August (O.S., 27 August N.S.) 1728, the day on which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the saint.
Location
The islands are separated by an international border, which also defines the International Date Line in that area, about 1.2 miles (2 km) from each island, at 168°58'37"W. The two islands are about 2.4 miles (3.8 km) apart at their closest points.
Big Diomede Island is the easternmost point of Russia.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Diomede Islands” is island group in the Bering Strait. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Diomede, Islands and island, not as a finished interpretation.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q204403. VIAF identifies the subject as 315144589. The Library of Congress control number is sh90005514. Authority coordinates are 65.767, -168.994. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1728.
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This entry incorporates text from “Diomede Islands” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.