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[[File:Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site]]
'''Novaya Zemlya''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Новая Земля, ''New Land'') is an [[island]] group in the [[Arctic Ocean]], forming part of [[Russia]]. It consists of two main islands, Severny (''Northern'') and Yuzhny (''Southern'') separated by the narrow Matochkin Strait. Novaya Zemlya is bounded by the [[Barents Sea]] to the west and the [[Kara Sea]] to the east. The territory has an area of approximately 35,000 square miles (91,000 km<sup>2</sup>), roughly the size of [[Portugal]] or [[Indiana]].

The first permanent settlement of Novaya Zemlya was established in 1870. Today the territory has a population of around 2,700, the vast majority of whom live in the sole settlement, Belushya Guba.

Novaya Zemlya was surveyed by the [[Dutch]] explorer [[Willem Barents]] in 1594 and 1596. Barents perished on the latter expedition and may have been buried on Severny island.

The territory was the location of nuclear weapons tests and nuclear waste dumping by the former [[Soviet Union]]. Novaya Zemlya is considered possibly the most contaminated nuclear waste site on earth.
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[[Category:Russian Islands]]