Uelen

Uelen
Уэлен
Увэлен (Chukchi)
Location of Uelen
Uelen
Location of Uelen
Uelen
Uelen (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug)
Coordinates: 66°09′34″N 169°48′33″W / 66.15944°N 169.80917°W / 66.15944; -169.80917
CountryRussia
Federal subjectChukotka Autonomous Okrug
Administrative districtChukotsky District
Elevation
3 m (10 ft)
Population
  Total
720
  Estimate 
(January 2018)
619
  Municipal districtChukotsky Municipal District
  Rural settlementUelen Rural Settlement
  Capital ofUelen Rural Settlement
Time zoneUTC+12 (MSK+9 )
Postal code(s)
689310
Dialing code(s)+7 42736
OKTMO ID77633440101

Uelen is a rural locality (a selo) in Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 720. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement in Russia and the whole of Asia. It is located in the Western Hemisphere, but the International Date Line curves around it, so it remains in a Russian time zone (UTC+12:00). Uelen is also the closest Asian settlement to North America. It is on the northeast corner of the Uelen Lagoon, a roughly 15 by 3 kilometres (9 by 2 miles) east-west lagoon separated from the ocean by a sandspit. Municipally, Uelen is subordinated to Chukotsky Municipal District and is incorporated as Uelen Rural Settlement.