Little Diomede Island
island in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States
Little Diomede Island (Inupiaq: Iŋaliq), formerly known as Krusenstern Island, after Adam Johann von Krusenstern, (Russian: остров Крузенштерна, romanized: ostrov Kruzenshterna), is an inhabited island of Alaska. It is the smaller of the two Diomede Islands located in the Bering Strait between the Alaskan mainland and Siberia. The island has one town, also called Diomede.
The island is a day behind Big Diomede Island because they are separated by the International Date Line; as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Yesterday Island.
Etymology
The Diomede Islands are named after Saint Diomedes. The Inupiaq name Iŋaliq means "the other one" or "the one over there". The two islands are respectively nicknamed "Yesterday Island" (Little Diomede Island) and "Tomorrow Island" (Big Diomede Island) because the International Date Line runs between them, making the date on Little Diomede Island always one day behind the date on Big Diomede Island.
Geography
Little Diomede Island is located about 16 miles (25 km) west of mainland Alaska, in the middle of the Bering Strait. It is only 0.4 miles (0.6 km) from the International Date Line and about 2.4 miles (3.9 km) from the Russian island of Big Diomede. According to the United States Census Bureau, the island has a total area of 2.8 sq mi (7.3 km2), all of it land.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Little Diomede Island” as island in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as island in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
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 Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1224996. Authority coordinates are 65.755, -168.924. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Little Diomede Island”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Little Diomede Island primary sources, Little Diomede Island archive and Little research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Little Diomede Island”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Little Diomede Island” 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.