Geography: Russia and the United States

Russia's relationship with the West seemed hopeful until tensions deteriorated when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Collaboration with Western countries, such as building a new space station with the United States, seems unlikely in the near future.

Despite this political climate, the geographic distance between Russia and the United States remains unchanged. The boundary between Russia and the United States (part of North America) coincides with the International Dateline (180° longitude) – the border runs between the two Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait. Big Diomedes is the easternmost location in Russia, and Little Diomedes is the westernmost location in the United States.

Using the scale of the navigation map in Figure 3.7, we see the distance between the United States and Russia is less than 2.5 mi (3.8 km). Notice that the scale on this map uses statute miles as the unit of measure. Statute is used to distinguish the mile from international or nautical miles and measures 5,280 ft or 1609.34 m. The caption mentions the International Peace Bridge, a hypothetical bridge or tunnel that could connect Asia and North America if it were ever built.