Sukhoy Nos is a headland on the island of Severny, part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, at coordinates 73.7000, 54.0000. Its name means “Dry Nose” in Russian, a reference to the barren, exposed character of the coastal point. The cape is built of black and reddish shale that runs out into the Barents Sea, with underwater sandbars off its northern shore creating shallow water along the rocky coast. It is best known as the detonation site chosen for the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear device ever tested, which produced a fireball roughly 8 kilometres wide and a mushroom cloud that peaked at an altitude of 95 kilometres.
Key facts
- Country: Russia
- Type: headland; cape
- Located in: Arkhangelsk Oblast
- Coordinates: 73.7000, 54.0000
Terrain and coastline
The cape’s rock is black and reddish shale, extending out into the Barents Sea along the point. Off the northern shore, underwater sandbars produce shallow water conditions along an otherwise rocky coastline. In earlier times the area served as a nesting habitat for Arctic bird species, including loons and other seabirds, with steep rocky cliffs providing breeding grounds.
Nuclear testing at Novaya Zemlya
On July 31, 1954, the Soviet decision was made to build a nuclear test site on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Sukhoy Nos became the site of the Tsar Bomba detonation, which created a fireball roughly 8 kilometres wide and a mushroom cloud peaking at an altitude of 95 kilometres.
The 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed by the USSR, the United States and the United Kingdom, prohibited atmospheric nuclear testing. After that, detonations at Novaya Zemlya moved underground, and testing there stopped altogether in 1990. The nuclear testing activities on Novaya Zemlya were a sensitive military matter during the Cold War but became public knowledge by the end of the 1980s.
Access and population
Access to Sukhoy Nos is highly restricted and requires special permissions, owing to its remoteness and harsh weather conditions. The population of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago overall is around 2,000 people.
Did you know
- The Tsar Bomba took 189 seconds to fall and detonate, giving the two aircraft involved time to reach a distance of 40 km from the explosion center. (large.stanford.edu)
- The mushroom cloud kept its shape long enough to be seen from 800 km away, and the resulting air waves circled the globe three times. (large.stanford.edu)
- The test used two aircraft: a bomber with a crew of 9 and a laboratory plane with a crew of 5. (large.stanford.edu)
Data sources
Where it appears
- Built in 15 Weeks, Halved for Safety: the Tsar Bomba’s Untold Risk November 8, 2026
Data updated: 2026-11-08