Beerenberg is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

dominating the northeastern end of the Norwegian island of

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...

. It is high and is the world's northernmost

subaerial In natural science, subaerial (literally "under the air"), has been used since 1833,Subaerial
in the Merriam ...

active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

and the only volcano in

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 ...

. The volcano is topped by a mostly ice-filled

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

about wide, with numerous peaks along its rim including the highest summit, Haakon VII Toppen, on its western side.

Name

Its name is Dutch for "Bear Mountain", and comes from the

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 seen there by Dutch whalers in the early 17th century.

Description

The upper slopes of the volcano are largely ice-covered, with several major glaciers including five which reach the sea. The longest of the glaciers is the

Weyprecht Glacier Weyprecht Glacier ( no, Weyprechtbreen) is a glacier in Jan Mayen. It is the longest glacier located in the Beerenberg area. The glacier is named after Austro-Hungarian Arctic explorer Karl Weyprecht. See also *List of glaciers in Norway *Svalb ...

, which flows from the summit crater via a breach through the northwestern portion of the crater rim, and extends about down to the sea. Beerenberg is composed primarily of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flows with minor amounts of

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they rem ...

. Numerous

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...

s have been formed along slope

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure A ...

History

There was an Austrian attempt to reach the summit of Beerenberg, presumably whilst the Austrians had a weather station on the island in 1882-83, but the attempt failed due to poor weather. The first recorded ascent was in the summer of 1921, by an expedition led by Dr. P.L. Mercanton, joined by J.M. Wordie, T.C. Lethbridge and three others. The British expedition was taken to the island by the Norwegian meteorological service, which was establishing a wireless station on the island. Its most recent eruptions took place in 1970 and 1985, both of which were flank eruptions from fissures on the northeast side of the mountain. Other eruptions with historical records occurred in 1732, 1818, and 1851.

References

External links

New Jan Mayen Homepage
including general info, photos, blog, and webcam
Old Jan Mayen Homepage
, including general info, photos, blog, and webcam
Beerenberg Expedition 2008 PicturesPictures and a map of Beerenberg1970 Beerenberg volcanic eruption captured on film
{{Authority control Landforms of Jan Mayen Volcanoes of Norway Mountains of Norway Holocene stratovolcanoes Ridge volcanoes Active volcanoes Volcanoes of the Arctic Ocean Extreme points of Earth