Red Forest Ukrainian: Рудий ліс Russian: Рыжий лес | |
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Map | |
Geography | |
Location | Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine |
Coordinates | 51°22′48″N 30°02′57″E / 51.38011°N 30.04908°E |
Administration | |
Status | State controlled, restricted access |
Visitation | With permission only |
Governing body | State Agency of Ukraine on the Exclusion Zone Management |
Ecology | |
Disturbance | Large amounts of radioactive contamination |
The Red Forest (Ukrainian: Рудий ліс, romanized: Rudyi Lis, Russian: Рыжий лес, romanized: Ryzhiy Les, lit. 'ginger-colour forest') is the ten-square-kilometre (4 sq mi) area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant within the Exclusion Zone, located in Polesia. The name "Red Forest" comes from the ginger-brown colour of the pine trees after they died following the absorption of high levels of ionizing radiation as a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on 26 April 1986.[1] The site remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world today.[2]