Kongsøya is an island in
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. 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, and has a length of about 40 kilometers. It is separated from
Abel Island to the east-northeast by the strait
Lydiannasundet, and from
Svenskøya to the west-southwest by
Rivalensundet ( wide). The strait of
Erik Eriksenstretet separates Kongsøya from
Nordaustlandet
Nordaustlandet (Anglicised 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 large ice ca ...
.
Kongsøya has a long, narrow and bent shape, with a number of headlands and bays. At the southern side of Kongsøya is the wide open bay
Breibukta, with several islets and skerries. The islands of
Helgoland Island and
Tirpitzøya are located south of Breibukta. Further east, between
Tømmerneset and
Bremodden, is the bay
Andréebukta, and on the northern side is
Svenskebukta.
[ Further east is the bay Bünsowbukta, between the headlands of Nordneset and Kapp Koburg. The bay of Vrakbukta, between Kapp Koburg and Kennedyneset, faces northwest. To the south is the bay Antarcticbukta and the headland Kapp Altmann. At the southern side of the island, northeast of Kapp Altmann, is the long beach Snøsporvstranda.
The western and eastern parts of Kongsøya are highlands, while the central part consists of lower land. The highest mountain is Retziusfjellet at the western side of the island, with an altitude of 320 m.a.s.l. Johnsenberget, at the eastern part of the island, reaches the height of 235 meters.][ The interior of the eastern side contains the plain Rundisflya, named by the circular glaciated area Rundisen. Rundisflya has a height of 50 m.a.s.l. or higher. It contains several smaller lakes, the largest of which is Rundisdammen. Five smaller lakes, Koppelvatna, are located east of Johnsenberget.
]
History
Kong Karls Land was possibly observed by whaler Thomas Edge in 1617. It was rediscovered in 1853, reported by Erik Eriksen. Hunters killed about 100 polar bears during the winter of 1908–1909. Cabins were built at Nordaustpynten
Nordaustpynten is a headland at Kongsøya of the Kong Karls Land, Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlant ...
, Kapp Koburg and Tømmerneset. In 1971 the polar bear was fully protected from hunting. In 1985 the whole Kong Karls Land, including Kongsøya, was totally protected against human traffic.
Nature
Kong Karls Land is regarded the most important hibernating area for polar bears in Svalbard. A density of 14 dens per square kilometer has been observed at Kongsøya. Kongsøya is included in the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve, which was established in 1973.[
]
See also
* List of islands of Norway
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kongsoya
Islands of Svalbard