Severnaya Zemlya is located in the Arctic Ocean and is divided from the mainland by the Strait of Vilkitsky, between the Kara Sea to the west and the Laptev Sea to the east. Administatively the archipelago belongs to Krasnoyarsky region. The archipelago consists of 4 big islands and 70 smaller ones, with the total area of 37 000 square kilometers. The largest islands are October Revolution Island, Bolshevik Island, Komsomolets Island and Pioneer Island.

October Revolution Island is the largest island of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. The area of this island is about 14,170 square kilometers and the highest point is 965 meters (Mount Karpinsky). Half of the island is covered with glaciers reaching down into the sea.

Although the archipelago is located not far off the northern coast of Russia, Severnaya Zemlya was not formally recorded until the 20th century. It was first discovered in the expedition of 1913-1915 of the icebreaker ships Taimyr and Vaigach, led by Boris Vilkitsky. On September 3, 1913 the expedition raised the Russian flag on what they believed to be a single island and named it "Nicholas II Land," after the Emperor of Russia. In 1928 the Soviet government renamed the area and it received the name of Severnaya Zemlya.

During the flight of the dirigible "Graf Zeppelin in 1931 it was found out that there were at least two islands. Later other expeditions (1931–1933) showed that Severnaya Zemlya was further divided, and the first detailed map of the archipelago was drawn up during those years.

Severnaya Zemlya is cold and dry, with the annual average temperature of -16 °C (-29 °C in February and -0.5 °C in July), the annual precipitation is about 420 mm. The archipelago has got serious temperature fluctuations during winter months, as low-pressure cyclonic activity, which originates in the North Atlantic Ocean, makes its way across the Arctic, bringing precipitation and higher temperatures. Snowfall in summer is quite common.

Severnaya Zemlya is a polar desert with sparse vegetation and permafrost soil, which is 50 cm thick. Rare vascular plants include species of Cerastium and Saxifraga. Non-vascular plants include the moss genera such as Detrichum, Dicranum, Pogonatum, Sanionia, Bryum, Orthothecium and Tortura, as well as the lichen genera Cetraria, Thamnolia, Cetraria, Cornicularia, Lecidea, Ochrolechia and Parmelia

According to different observations thirty-two bird species have been registered on Severnaya Zemlya such as little auk, kittiwake, black guillemot, ivory gull, and glaucous gull, the snow bunting, purple sandpiper, and brent goose. 17 bird species are known to breed on the islands. The most common mammal on Severnaya Zemlya is the collared lemming, which is present on all large islands. Other mammals, which were occasionally observed on the islands, include Arctic fox, Wolf, Ermine, Arctic hare and Reindeer.