Mondo Knows Facts
The Diomede Islands lie less than four km apart with a 21-hour gap
Separated by the Bering Strait, Big Diomede in Russia and Little Diomede in the US sit across the date line.
Big Diomede belongs to Russia and Little Diomede belongs to the United States, separated by just 3.8 kilometres of sea. Because the International Date Line passes directly between them, Big Diomede is twenty-one hours ahead of Little Diomede during daylight saving time. They are nicknamed Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Island.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
The Bering Strait separates Asia and North America by eighty-two kmConnecting the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, the narrow strait lies between Russia and Alaska.The Ural Mountains form the traditional boundary between Europe and AsiaRunning 2,500 kilometres north to south through Russia, the Urals divide two major continental regions.The Volga is the longest river in EuropeFlowing 3,530 kilometres entirely within Russia, the Volga empties into the landlocked Caspian Sea.The highest tsunami ever recorded ran up 524 metresA landslide into Lituya Bay, Alaska, in 1958 sent water over the ridgePeter the Great founded St Petersburg as Russia's window to EuropeConstruction began on the Neva River delta in 1703 to establish a maritime capitalTsar Alexander II emancipated millions of Russian serfsThe Imperial Edict of 1861 abolished serfdom across the Russian Empire
Tags: diomede islands, date line, alaska, russia
The Diomede Islands lie less than four km apart with a 21-hour gap: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Separated by the Bering Strait, Big Diomede in Russia and Little Diomede in the US sit across the date line. The figure is taken from CIA World Factbook, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a world geography fact?
- Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.