Se·ver·na·ya Zem·lya 
(sĕvər-nə-yä′ zĕm′lē-ä, -lyä, syĭ-vyĭr-)
(sĕvər-nə-yä′ zĕm′lē-ä, -lyä, syĭ-vyĭr-) An archipelago of northern-central Russia in the Arctic Ocean north of the Taymyr Peninsula. Discovered in 1913, the group comprises three major islands and several smaller ones.