Dolgy Island's southern tip is located only 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the West Siberian Plain mainland.

There are smaller islands in Dolgy's vicinity at both of its ends which are a prolongation of the same submarine structure.

There were two ships in this early expedition, the Pervy, under Malygin and the Vtoroy under the command of captain A. Skuratov.

After entering the little-explored Kara Sea, they sailed to the mouth of the Ob River.

[2] Malygin took careful observations of these hitherto almost unknown areas of the Russian Arctic coastline.