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Geography & Places
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Tomorrow and Yesterday: The Two Islands Where the US and Russia Are 2.4 Miles and 21 Hours Apart
Just 2.4 miles of water separate Russia's Big Diomede from the USA's Little Diomede. But the International Date Line between them creates a 21-hour time gap, placing one island in 'tomorrow' and the other in 'yesterday,' a stark symbol of political and temporal division.
In the heart of the Bering Strait lies one of the world's most fascinating geographical quirks. It's a place where you can technically look into 'tomorrow.' This isn't science fiction; it's the reality of the Diomede Islands. Here, the United States and Russia are separated by a mere 2.4 miles (3.8 km) of water. But a straight line between them crosses the most significant temporal boundary on Earth: the International Date Line. The result is a mind-bending 21-hour time difference between two islands you could almost shout across.
Yesterday Isle and Tomorrow Island
The two islands are Little Diomede, which belongs to the United States, and Big Diomede, which is part of Russia. Because the International Date Line snakes between them, Big Diomede is nearly a full day ahead of its American neighbor. When it's 10 AM on Saturday on Little Diomede, it's already 7 AM on Sunday on Big Diomede. This has earned them the fitting nicknames 'Yesterday Isle' (Little Diomede) and 'Tomorrow Island' (Big Diomede).
This means that on a clear day, the roughly 80 residents of Little Diomede, a small Inupiat village in Alaska, can look across the water and literally see the future. In winter, an ice bridge often forms between the islands, making the physical journey seem trivial. Yet, to cross it would be to leap forward in time by almost an entire day.
A Human Divide: The Ice Curtain
For millennia, these islands were not divided. They were home to a connected Yupik community that traveled freely between them, sharing family ties and a common culture. The formal border was established with the 1867 Alaska Purchase, but life continued much as it had before. The true separation came with the Cold War.
In 1948, the border was sealed, creating what became known as the 'Ice Curtain.' Families were split, and all contact was forbidden. The native population on Big Diomede was forcibly relocated to Siberia by the Soviet government to prevent cross-border contact, leaving the island inhabited only by Russian military units. What was once a short boat trip to visit relatives became an impossible journey across a tense geopolitical frontier.
A Swim Across Time and Politics
The starkness of this division was famously challenged in 1987. In a remarkable act of citizen diplomacy, American long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox swam the frigid 2.7 miles of water between the two islands. It was a symbolic gesture to thaw Cold War tensions. After her swim, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev praised her effort at the White House:
She proved by her courage how close to each other our peoples live.
Cox's swim was a powerful reminder that despite the lines drawn on maps and the hours on a clock, the human connection is measured in much simpler terms.
Life on the Edge of Time
Today, Little Diomede remains one of the most isolated communities in the United States. Its residents live a life dictated by tradition and the harsh Arctic environment, relying on subsistence hunting and supplies flown or barged in when the weather permits. Across the water, Big Diomede is now primarily a Russian weather station and border guard base, its native village long gone.
The Diomede Islands are more than just a quirky fact. They are a living testament to how political and abstract lines can create real-world divides, separating not just nations, but families, histories, and even the very days of the week.