Original vid posted to TikTok: @map_nerd – 20M liked it so figured I’d share with you too!…
You probably know that Alaska and Russia are relatively close – with just the Bering Sea between them, they’re only about 55 miles apart.
But there’s an American town that is much closer, just a couple miles from Russia. And In winter, they can actually walk there, but they don’t… I don’t think.
Diomede is an American town of about 100 people on a small island in the Bering Sea called Little Diomede Island.
It is one of the two Diomede Islands that sit about halfway between mainland Alaska and mainland Russia.
The western island – Big Diomede – is Russian. The eastern island – Little Diomede – is American. They are 2.5 miles apart. The only thing between them is water. In winter, the notoriously cold water freezes up, creating a 2.5 mile ice bridge that’s walkable. (I’m told it takes about a half hour). So technically you CAN walk from the US to Russia.
If you do, you also instantaneously step into the future bc Big Diomede is 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede. The international date line falls right smack between them so you can literally step a whole day ahead.
