English: A beautiful nearly cloud-free summer morning in mid-July, 2016, allowed the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite to capture a true-color image of the still-frigid Franz Josef Land as it passed over the Arctic Ocean. This image was acquired on July 13, 2016, and shows snow and ice covering much of the archipelago while filigrees of sea ice spin north of the islands and clouds cover the ocean to the south.

Franz Josef Land is Russia’s northernmost territory, and the archipelago is made up of 191 islands. Glaciers cap many of the islands, and appears bright white in this image. In snow and ice-free areas the tundra appears pale brown.

The climate of Franz Joseph Land which sits about 1,000 kilometers (625 miles) from the North Pole, can be extremely harsh, especially in winter. The average summertime temperature is just 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), and the average wintertime temperature is -8 degrees Fahrenheit (-22 degrees Celsius).

The archipelago is part of the Russian Arctic National Park, which also includes not only Franz Josef Land but also the northern part of Novaya Zemlya (Severny Island). Glaciers cover about 85% of the islands year round, especially on the larger islands. In most areas vegetation, where it exists, is limited to moss and lichens, although certain buttercups and poppies bloom in moist areas along with stands of polar willow. Due to the severe conditions, tall shrubs and trees can’t survive.