This island is located in an area of skerries right off the western coast of the Taymyr Peninsula.

Geologically all these coastal islands are a continuation of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago which lies further north.

Ostrov Vkhodnoy is a 0.75 km (0.47 mi) long islet located off Nansena's western end.

[4] Nansen Island belongs to the Krasnoyarsk Krai administrative division of Russia and is part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve – the largest nature reserve of Russia and one of the biggest in the world.

Both islands are named in the honor and memory of Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen.