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18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Driving on ice

The Yamal Peninsula: a stretch of peatland that extends from northern Siberia into the Kara Sea, far above the Arctic Circle. To the east lie the shallow waters of the Gulf of Ob; to the west, the Baydaratskaya Bay, which is ice-covered for most of the year. Nenets herders move with their reindeer in search of food, moving along ancient migratory routes. In summer as in winter, when the temperature often reaches -50 °C. Today, migration routes are hampered by infrastructure associated with mining - especially gas; roads are difficult to cross for reindeer and pollution endangers the quality of food. "Yamal Megaproject" of the mining companies started in the 1990s and today, 25 years later, millions of cubic meters of gas are channeled into Europe each year. It is not the first time that the Nenets have to face the risk of extinction, but this time the mining and global warming that causes changes to the vegetation of the tundra are seriously threatening the inhabitants of this territory.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Salechard, Russia
Copyright: © Marco Marcone