Evening star., 1948-03-08
Stars, Men and Atoms
Vast Region Of Siberia
Included in Cold Pole
Area with Lowest Temperature
Being Populated by Soviet
By Thomas R.tHenry

By Thomas R.'Henry
The cold pole" of the world covers almost
100000 square miles.
1t Is . region Of eternal ground frost which
extends to depths of 1000 feet, where the aver
age winter temperature is less than so degrees
below zero, and where the lowest temperatures
ever known on earth have been recorded
minus "a fahrenheit.
This region until now unpopulated except
by nomad tribes of race probably related to
the Eskimo has been widely surveyed by So
Wet explorers during and since the war and
skin-hut villages are turning into small cities,
according to an unrestricted Russian report
from the files Of the War Department pre-
sented before the American Polar Society meet
ing at Catholic University here the other night.
Located In Siberia.
The cold pole" Is northern Siberia. 1t hardly
can be located with much more precision, ac-
cording to the Soviet exploration report which
was read by DR.. Paul Siple, American explorer
and authority on the Antarctic. without COM
ment as to its reliability. Here winter tempera-
lures are much lower than are encountered
anywhere within the Arctic Circle. The
North Pole itself Is relatively temperate
place. The cold pole temperatures are lower
than have been reported from the interior Of
the Antarctic continent, although records
from this region admittedly are fragmentary
Since it is so far south, however the soil OF
the cold pole region thaws sufficiently during
the short summer to permit crops OF fast
growing vegetables and grains and there Is
some pasturage. The mineral resources OF the
area are the chief attraction of the Russians
in their efforts-extremely successful, accord
ing to the report-to overcome the difficulties
of permanent Arctic living.
Among the curious natural features Of the
area the report states, are gigantic river
glaciers such as are found on q small scale In
some parts of Alaska river freezes solid to
the bottom. In the spring thaw further north
flood waters are released which run against
this impenetrable dam. AS result they flow
over the surrounding countryside, producing q
great ice sheet which has all the character
istics of slow-flowing glacier and tends to
become permanent. The largest Of those dis
covered by the Russians was IS miles long, 8
miles wide and about Is feet thick-more than
oo,000,0 900 cubic yards Of ice.
Lost Colonies Located.
In the eastern part of the cold pole area the
Russians report finding some lost colonies Of
their countrymen, still speaking the archaic
language of $50 years ago Their ancestors
were groups VI udppclo Scllt Oub ullucl /4FdA
the III. They became isolated, could not
get back to Russia, and lost all contact. Their
descendants have remained isolated groups
ever since-intermarrying to some extent with
the natives, but retaining their old language
and customs.
The Soviet scientists claim to have set up
S6 polar stations for scientific research, in
Guiding IL established quite recently. Such
stations, it is known, are quite pretentious
with stats of meteorologists, radio men, biolo-
gsts, geoogists and other technicians. Sup
plies are brought in by plane. One Of these
stations is on Big Diomede Island In Bering
Strait, only about three miles from Little
Diomede, or Krusenstern Island, which is a
United States possession.
Most notable Of the Russian polar stations
has been established on Rudolf Island, the
most northery point in the Old World, which
constitutes the extreme northern limit of Franz
Josef Land 1t is above latitude 81 and con-
stitutes the most northerly point in the world
now occupied permanently by white men. That
this is large station Is indicated by the
statement In the Russian report that it has
complement of seven planes to bring in sup
plies and personnel and to keep In contact
with the outside world.