Svalbard is an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

roughly centered on 78° north latitude and 20° east longitude. The archipelago is the northernmost part of the

Kingdom 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 the ...

. The three main islands in the group consist of Spitsbergen (the largest island),

Nordaustlandet Nordaustlandet (sometimes translated as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under la ...

and

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-S ...

. There are also a number of smaller islands, such as

Barents Island Barents may refer to: * René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar *Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer * Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline * Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part ...

(Barentsøya) (),

Kvitøya Kvitøya (English: "White Island") is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of . It is the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The closest Russian Arctic possession, Victoria Island, lies only to the e ...

(),

Prins Karls Forland Prins Karls Forland or Forlandet, occasionally anglicized as Prince Charles Foreland, is an island off the west coast of Oscar II Land on Spitsbergen in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. The entire island and the surrounding sea area c ...

(English: Prince Charles Foreland) (),

Kongsøya Kongsøya is an island in Svalbard, Norway. It is the largest of the islands in King Charles Land (Kong Karls Land). Its area is . The other main island in the chain is Svenskøya. Geography Kongsøya is the largest island in Kong Karls Land, a ...

(), Bear Island (), Svenskøya (), Wilhelm Island () and other smaller islands or skerries ().

Climate

There is no arable land in the island group due to heavy glaciation and the northern latitude. There are no trees native to the archipelago, but there are shrubs such as

crowberry ''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but there ...

and

cloudberry ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...

. The west coast of Spitsbergen remains navigable most of the year, due to favorable winds which keep the area ice-free. Norway claims a fishery protection zone, but this is not recognized by neighboring

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The climate of the Svalbard archipelago is arctic, tempered by warm

North Atlantic Current The North Atlantic Current (NAC), also known as North Atlantic Drift and North Atlantic Sea Movement, is a powerful warm western boundary current within the Atlantic Ocean that extends the Gulf Stream northeastward. The NAC originates from where ...

along the west and northern coasts. This means cool summers and cold winters along the wild, rugged

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

ous islands. The high land of the island interiors is generally ice covered year round, with the west coast clear of ice about one half of the year. There are many

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

s along west and north coasts

Resources

Svalbard has many mineral resources, and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

was mined extensively on the west side of Spitsbergen.

Ice floes An ice floe () is a large pack of floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cau ...

often block up the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal exports) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic

Environmental issues

Although many prior adverse practises are now banned, the issues surrounding past exploitation of animal resources in the Svalbard area remain a problem. With whale, seal and walrus populations are still far below than they were even two centuries ago (the average age of a Greenland whale). The population of polar bears are locally recovering from the major culls of the 1960s and 1970s that came about due to the availability of snow scooters; however, the polar bear remains threatened at a global level, due to unsustainable levels of killing by humans and marine

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. ...

. There are a wide variety of birds in Svalbard including puffin, Arctic skua,

kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-l ...

and

fulmar The fulmars are tubenosed seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on ...

, many of which populations are being monitored.

Physical geography

Lands

The main islands of Svalbard is parted into several ''lands'': * Spitsbergen: ** Albert I Land **

Haakon VII Land Haakon VII Land is a land area at the northwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, between Woodfjorden and Kongsfjorden Kongsfjorden as seen from Blomstrandhalvøya Kongsfjorden (Kongs Fjord or Kings Bay) is an inlet on the west coast of ...

** Andrée Land **

Oscar II Land Oscar II Land is the land area between Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The long glacier Sveabreen divides Oscar II Land from James I Land. The area is named after Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January ...

James I Land James I Land is a land area on the northwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is named after King James I of England and Scotland. The 30 kilometer long glacier Sveabreen divides James I Land from Oscar II Land Oscar II Land is the land area ...

** Dickson Land **

Ny-Friesland Ny-Friesland is the land area between Wijdefjorden and Hinlopen Strait on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The area is named after the Dutch province of Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia ...

** Olav V Land ** Bünsow Land ** Sabine Land **

Nordenskiöld Land Nordenskiöld Land is the land area between Isfjorden and Van Mijenfjorden on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The area is named after Finnish-Swedish explorer and geologist Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. The coastal region of Nordenskiöld Land (Norde ...

** Heer Land ** Nathorst Land **

Wedel Jarlsberg Land Wedel Jarlsberg Land is the land area between Van Keulenfjorden and Hornsund on the southwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The area is largely covered with glaciers, and is completely within the Sør-Spitsbergen National Park. Named aft ...

** Torell Land ** Sørkapp Land *

Gustav V Land Gustav V Land is a land area comprising the peninsula on the northwestern part of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard in Arctic Norway. It constitutes roughly one quarter of the island's area, approximately 4000 km2, being some 80 km wide east– ...

** Prins Oscars Land ** Orvin Land **

Gustav Adolf Land Gustav Adolf Land is the land area of the southwestern part of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, south of Wahlenbergfjorden. The area is named after Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of ...

Fjords

There are numerous

s among the Svalbard islands; the five longest of which (measured from the head to open sea) are listed here:Web publication of Statistics Norway, the official body for such data in Norway. Units provided are metric only; no unit conversions provided here.
/ref>The percentage of Svalbard covered by glaciation varies by year; 59.8% is reported for 2005. *

Wijdefjorden Wijdefjord is the longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Wijdefjord is located in the northern portion of the island of Spitsbergen, which lies in the Arctic Ocean about midway between Norway and the North Pole The North Pole, ...

, * Isfjorden, *

Van Mijenfjorden Van Mijenfjorden is the third-longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. It lies in the southern portion of Spitsbergen island, south of Nordenskiöld Land and north of Nathorst Land. The fjord is long, being separated from Bellsund further ...

, * Woodfjorden, * Wahlenbergfjord,

Coastlines

Coastlines of the Svalbard islands (listed from largest island to smallest) show the extensive variability characteristic of glacial formation: * Spitsbergen, *

, *

Barentsøya Barentsøya, sometimes anglicized as Barents Island, is an island in the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, lying between Edgeøya and Spitsbergen. Barents Island has no permanent human inhabitants. Named for the Dutch explorer Willem Barents (who ...

, *

, * Bear Island (Bjørnøya), * Hopen, > * Svenskøya, * Wilhelm Island, * Other smaller islands and skerries,

Mountains

Although they are small when compared with the mountains of Norway, the elevation of the Svalbard island mountains accounts for much of the glacial erosion: *

Newtontoppen Newtontoppen (Newton Peak) is the largest and highest mountain in Svalbard, at 1,713 m. Its peak is the highest point on Svalbard. It is located at the north east corner on the island of Spitsbergen in the Chydeniusfjella range. The near ...

, *

Perriertoppen Perriertoppen is the second highest mountain in Svalbard, at 1712 m. It is located in the north east of the island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is late Silurian granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock com ...

, *

Ceresfjellet Ceresfjellet is a mountain on Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. At tall, it is the third-largest peak on Svalbard. It is located west of Wijdefjorden Wijdefjord is the longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Wijdefjord is located in the ...

, *

Chadwickryggen Chadwickryggen is a mountain on Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. At high, it is the fourth-largest peak on Svalbard. It is located west of Wijdefjorden between Smutsbreen and Tryggvebreen in Ny-Friesland. It is named for the English physicist J ...

, *

Galileotoppen Galileotoppen is a mountain on Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. At tall, it is the fifth-tallest peak on Svalbard. It is located west of Wijdefjorden northwest of Newtontoppen in the south of Ny-Friesland. It is named for the Italian astronomer ...

Glaciers

* Austfonna (with Sørfonna and Vegafonna), * Olav V Land, * Vestfonna, * Åsgårdfonna, * Edgeøyjøkulen, * Hinlopenbreen, * Negribreen, *

Bråsvellbreen Bråsvellbreen ( en, The Sudden Swell Glacier) is a glacier in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The glacier is a 45 kilometre long stream southwards from the ice dome Sørdomen of Austfonna, debouching into the sea on the south coast. In the late 1930s it ...

, * Etonbreen, * Leighbreen, *

Holtedahlfonna Holtedahlfonna is a glacier at Haakon VII Land on Spitsbergen, Svalbard, between Wijdefjorden Wijdefjord is the longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Wijdefjord is located in the northern portion of the island of Spitsbergen, which ...

(with Isachsenfonna), *

Kvitøyjøkulen Kvitøyjøkulen is a large icecap on the island of Kvitøya Kvitøya (English: "White Island") is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of . It is the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The closest Rus ...

(

(island)), * Stonebreen, * Kronebreen, * Hochstetterbreen, * Barentsjøkulen, * Balderfonna, * Nathorstbreen, * Monacobreen,

Rivers

* Agardhelva * Bungeelva * Grøndalselva * Lidelva * Longyear River *

Reindalselva Reindalselva is a river in Nordenskiöld Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The river flows through the valley of Reindalen, starting from the mountain pass Reindalspasset, and ending into the bay Kaldbukta in Van Mijenfjorden. It has created one of ...

* Sassenelva * Semmeldalselva * Slaklielva * Vinda

Settlements

Inhabited

Barentsburg Barentsburg (russian: Баренцбург) is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 455 inhabitants (). A coal mining town, the settlement is almost entirely made up of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians. History Rijpsburg, ...

(Баренцбург) (Russian settlement — population of 400) * Bear Island (Norwegian

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

, population of 9) * Hopen (Norwegian weather station, population of 4) *

Hornsund Hornsund is a fjord on the western side of the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen island. The fjord's mouth faces west to the Greenland Sea, and is wide. The length is , the mean depth is , and the maximal depth is . Hornsund cuts different geol ...

(Polish research station, population of 8) * Longyearbyen (population of ≈2,000) *

Ny-Ålesund Ny-Ålesund ("New Ålesund") is a small town in Oscar II Land on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It is situated on the Brøgger peninsula (Brøggerhalvøya) and on the shore of the bay of Kongsfjorden. The company town is owned ...

(population of 40) *

Sveagruva Sveagruva (), or simply Svea, was a mining settlement in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, lying at the head of Van Mijenfjord. It was the third largest settlement in the archipelago (after Longyearbyen and Barentsburg). Around 300 workers ...

(population of 310, none living permanently) No roads link the settlements on the island; transportation includes

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, and

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

. The gateway to Svalbard is Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen.

Former

* Harlingen kokerij (Dutch settlement established in 1636 in Houcker Bay, abandoned sometime after 1662) * Kobbefjorden (also Robbe Bay or Copenhagen Bay) (Danish settlement established in 1631, abandoned in 1658) * Engelskbukta (English settlement established around 1615, occupied until mid-century) * Gravneset (English settlement established in the early 17th century, abandoned between 1624 and 1632, after which time it was appropriated by the Dutch) *

Grumant Grumant (russian: Грумант) is a former Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist stat ...

(Grumantbyen) (Грумант) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 1961, revival of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

operations announced in 2003) * Gåshamna (Two English settlements, established sometime around 1618 and occupied until at least 1655) * Lægerneset (Dutch settlement appropriated by the English in 1615, occupied by the latter until the 1650s) *

Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...

(French settlement established in 1633, abandoned in 1637) *

Pyramiden Pyramiden (; rus, Пирами́да, r=Piramída, p=pʲɪrɐˈmʲidə; literally 'The Pyramid') is an abandoned Soviet coal mining settlement on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard which has become a tourist destination. Founded by Sweden in ...

(Пирамида) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 1998) *

Smeerenburg Smeerenburg was a whaling settlement on Amsterdam Island in northwest Svalbard. It was founded by the Danish and Dutch in 1619 as one of Europe's northernmost outposts. With the local bowhead whale population soon decimated and whaling deve ...

(Danish-Dutch settlement established in 1619 on the southeastern promontory of

Amsterdam Island Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area ...

, abandoned around 1660) *

Ytre Norskøya Ytre Norskøya ( en, Outer Norway Island) is an island on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago. History Remains of a whaling station exist on the southern side of the island, possibly rivaling Smeerenburg in size. ...

(Dutch settlement possibly rivaling Smeerenburg in size; probably established by members of the

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

chamber in the 1620s or later, and abandoned in 1670)

Line notes

References

* Walter Brian Harland, Lester M. Anderson, Daoud Manasrah, Nicholas J. Butterfield. 1997. ''The geology of Svalbard'' * C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

External links

Database of place names
at the Norwegian Polar Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Svalbard