Geography
The island is an igneous rock formation located 35 km from the coast, east of the mouth of the Danube River. The island's coordinates are 45°15′18″N 30°12′15″E / 45.255°N 30.20417°E / 45.255; 30.20417. The island is X-shaped, from S-W to N-E 690 meters by 682 meters from N-W to S-E, covering an area of 0.205 km². The highest area is 41 metres (135 ft) above sea level. The island does not have a prominently featured mountain, but rather a low-slope hill.
The nearest coast location to Snake Island is Kubanskyi Island on the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, located 35 km (22 mi) away between the Bystroe Channel and Skhidnyi Channel. The closest Romanian coast city, Sulina is 45 km (28 mi) away. The closest Ukrainian city is Vylkove, 50 km (31 mi), however there also is a port Ust-Dunaisk, 44 km (27 mi) away from the island.
For the end of 2011 in Zmiinyi Island coastal waters 58 fish species (12 of which are included into the Red Book of Ukraine) and six crab species have been recorded. A presidential decree of 9 December 1998, Number 1341/98, declared the island and coastal waters as a state protected area. The total area protected covers 232 hectares.
Read more about this topic: Snake Island (Black Sea)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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