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Encyclopedic overview
Map of the Novaya Zemlya with Matochkin Strait
Matochkin Strait or Matochkin Shar (Russian: Ма́точкин Шар) is a narrow waterway separating Severny and Yuzhny Island on Russia's Novaya Zemlya archipelago. It links the Barents Sea on the west to the Kara Sea on the east in the Arctic Circle. It is under ice cover for most of the year and is navigable only for a short time. It is located in a region of strategic importance, and the surrounding region was a major nuclear test site during the Cold War.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Matochkin Strait” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.