The USA and Russia are only 3.8 kilometers apart: how is this possible? (photo)

If you look at a geographic map, Russia and the USA appear to be countries separated by a vast distance. However, scientists claim that there is a point on Earth where the borders of these countries are just under 4 kilometers apart, as reported by IFLScience.

This refers to two tiny islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait, which are only 3.8 kilometers apart. On the Russian side lies Big Diomede, which has an area of just over 10 square kilometers. Historically, this island was home to the Inupiat people, as was Little Diomede, but currently, there is no permanent population on the island after the indigenous inhabitants were forcibly relocated to mainland Russia in 1948. Today, the island is home only to a meteorological station.

Little Diomede is the smaller of the two islands and belongs to the USA. Researchers note that the island's area is only about 7 square kilometers, and as of 2021, its population was just 82 people. This small number of residents lives in a community called Diomede, which is situated on the western side of the island facing Russia.

Scientists point out that the short distance between the Diomede Islands is also where the international date line is located. In simple terms, despite the tiny distance between the islands, the time on Big Diomede is 21 hours ahead of the time on Little Diomede. As a result, the two islands have received some very fitting nicknames: the big one is called "Tomorrow Island," and the small one is known as "Yesterday Island."

If you wish to take a time-travel journey between them, you could theoretically also traverse the only place where one can walk between the USA and Russia. The fact is that the waters separating the islands freeze in winter. However, this journey is only theoretically possible, as in reality, traveling between the islands is prohibited.

However, this was not always the case. About 25,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, a significant amount of water was frozen. As a result, sea levels were 91 meters lower, and consequently, the Diomede Islands would not have been islands at all—they would have been part of a land bridge.