Two islands, two countries, 21 hours apart
The Diomede Islands
Big Diomede and Little Diomede sit less than three miles apart in the Bering Strait, one belongs to Russia, one to the United States, and they live almost a full day apart in time.
In the middle of the Bering Strait, two small rocky islands sit just 3.8 kilometers apart, close enough that on a clear day residents on one can see the other with the naked eye. Big Diomede belongs to Russia and Little Diomede belongs to the United States, making this narrow channel one of the last physical borders of the Cold War still standing exactly where it was drawn. The international date line runs directly between them, so despite their closeness in space, the islands are separated by roughly 21 hours in clock time. Little Diomede is nicknamed Tomorrow Island's neighbor since Big Diomede, just a few miles west, is a full calendar day ahead. Big Diomede's native Yupik population was relocated to the Russian mainland decades ago, leaving it uninhabited and patrolled by Russian border guards, while a small Inupiat community still lives on Little Diomede's American side, watching the empty Russian island every day from across the water.
A border frozen in place
Big Diomede and Little Diomede sit in the middle of the Bering Strait, separated by only 3.8 kilometers of often-frozen water. The border between them was set by the 1867 purchase of Alaska by the United States from Russia, and it has remained fixed there ever since, surviving the entire Cold War as one of the few places where US and Soviet, then Russian, territory faced each other across open water within plain sight.
Tomorrow is visible from today
The International Date Line runs through the strait between the two islands, angled specifically to keep both sides of the border on their respective calendar days. Because of this, Little Diomede in the United States and Big Diomede in Russia are separated by around 21 hours of clock time despite being visible from one another, giving Little Diomede the nickname Tomorrow Island's next door neighbor since Big Diomede is perpetually about a day ahead.
An island emptied by the Cold War
Big Diomede once had a small native Yupik community, but Soviet authorities relocated its residents to the mainland in the late 1940s as tensions with the United States escalated, turning the island into a militarized, uninhabited outpost patrolled by Russian border guards. It remains off limits to virtually everyone today.
Life on the American side
Little Diomede still hosts a small Inupiat village of a few dozen residents who rely on subsistence hunting and fishing, watched over by the abandoned silhouette of Big Diomede a few kilometers to the west. In winter, an ice bridge can sometimes form across the strait, technically making it possible to walk between the two countries, though doing so is illegal and dangerous given the militarized Russian side.
Fun facts
- The islands are separated by only 3.8 kilometers of water.
- Big Diomede is roughly 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede due to the date line.
- Big Diomede's native population was relocated to mainland Russia in the 1940s.
- Little Diomede still has a small Inupiat community of a few dozen residents.
- In rare cold winters, sea ice can bridge the gap between the two islands.
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Text on this page is original Terralocate editorial. Background facts compiled from the public sources listed above. Images via Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses (typically CC BY-SA or public domain).