Barentsøya, sometimes anglicized as Barents Island, is an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
archipelago of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, lying between
Edgeøya
Edgeøya (), occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is a Norwegian island located in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; with an area of , it is the third-largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the Søraust-Sva ...
and
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
. Barents Island has no permanent human inhabitants. Named for the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
explorer
Willem Barents
Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer.
Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. He reached as fa ...
(who actually never sighted the island), it is a part of
Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve ( no, Søraust-Svalbard naturreservat) is located in the south-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Edgeøya and Barentsøya in addition to a number of smaller island ...
.
Barentsøya is an
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
island. Around 43 per cent of its area of is
glaciated
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
. To the north, in the sound between Barentsøya and Spitsbergen, lies the island of
Kükenthaløya
Kükenthaløya is an island between Barentsøya and Olav V Land, Svalbard. It is located south of the strait Heleysundet
Heleysundet ( en, Heley Sound) is a narrow sound between Kükenthaløya and Spitsbergen. It is known for its violent tidal ...
. To the south, the
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
separating Barents Island from Edgeøya is
Freemansundet.
In geologic time much of the surface rock has been eroded by
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
. The entire area is visited by
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
s, who have a recognisable genetic differentiation specialised to the Barents Sea region. At Dørstubukta there is also a large nesting mainly used by
kittiwakes.
Geography
![Edgeoya Barentsoya](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Edgeoya_Barentsoya.jpg)
Barentsøya has an approximately square shape, with maximum lengths and widths of about fifty kilometers, and an area of . A significant part of the island, more than , is glaciated. The ice cap of
Barentsjøkulen Barentsjøkulen is a glacier on Barentsøya, Svalbard. The glacier covers an area of about . It is named after the Barents Island, which again is named after Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz. Barents Island is on the Barents Sea.
The glacier has t ...
covers a large part of the island, with the largest offspring
Besselsbreen (north),
Duckwitzbreen (west),
Freemanbreen Freemanbreen is a glacier on Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is an offshoot of Barentsjøkulen, reaching down to the sea in the southern direction, into Freeman Strait. The glacier is named after British Alderman Ralph Freeman. The mountain of Buklerimen ...
(south), and
Hübnerbreen Hübnerbreen is a glacier at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is located at the eastern part of the island, and is named after mining engineer and Arctic explorer Adolf Hübner.
The mountain of Buklerimen separates Hübnerbreen from Freemanbreen Freeman ...
(southeast). Barentsjøkulen has the two large ice domes of
Peer Gyntslottet and
Solveigdomen. The mountain of
Schweinfurthberget is a nunatak of Barentsjøkulen.
At the northern side of Barentsøya is the ice-free peninsula of
Frankenhalvøya, between
Ginevra Bay at the western side and
Dorstbukta to the east.
Grimheia is an ice-free mountainous area extending over a length of about thirteen kilometers at the northern part of the island. The westernmost point of the island is the headland of
Mistakodden. At the southern part of Barentsøya are the mountains of
Krefftberget and
Høgrinden, while
Jeppeberget is located to the southeast. The largest lakes of the island are
Veslemjøsa in
Heimarka, and
Dalskilvatnet between the valleys of
Sjodalen
Sjodalen is a wide, gently sloping valley in Southern Norway, draining the eastern parts of Jotunheimen. The river Sjoa gives its name to the valley. Sjodalen is generally accepted to start at the outlet from the deep mountain-lake Gjende. The va ...
and
Grimdalen.
See also
*
List of islands of Norway
This is a list of islands of Norway sorted by name. For a list sorted by area, see List of islands of Norway by area.
A
* Alden
* Aldra
* Algrøy
* Alsta
* Altra
* Anda
* Andabeløya
* Andørja
* Andøya, Vesterålen
* Andøya, Agder
* Ar ...
References
Line notes
*C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Polar Bear: ''Ursus maritimus'', globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
External links
Svalbard Images: Barentsøya(URL accessed 26 December 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barentsoya
Islands of Svalbard
Uninhabited islands of Norway