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Spitsbergen

Spitsbergen (which is also spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest island of the archipelago Svalbard. It was called West Spitsbergen until 1965. The name East Spitsbergen was proposed for the third-largest island of the group, Edgeøya.

Spitsbergen
Geography
LocationArctic Ocean
Coordinates78°45′N 16°00′E / 78.750°N 16.000°E / 78.750; 16.000Coordinates: 78°45′N 16°00′E / 78.750°N 16.000°E / 78.750; 16.000
ArchipelagoSvalbard
Area37,673 km2 (14,546 sq mi) (36th)
Elevation1,717 m (5,633 ft)
Country
Norway
Demographics
Population2,642
Spitsbergen marine features with towns labelled copy.png

Today, it is the only island on Svalvard which is settled permanently. The island has a size of about 380 kilometres (240 mi) by 220 kilometres (140 mi)

There are only few active settlements on Spitsbergen, among them

There are several abandoned ones:

  • Grumant, mining town, abandoned in 1965
  • Colesbukta, shipping terminal for Grumant, about half-way between Grumant and Barentsburg.
  • Ny-London, mining town, abandoned in the 1920s. Near Ny-Alesund
  • Pyramiden, mining town, mostly abandoned in the 1990s

Spitsbergen Media

  • Portion of 1599 map of Arctic exploration by the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz. Spitsbergen, here mapped for the first time, appears as Het Nieuwe Land (Dutch for "the New Land"), center-left.

  • Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen by Abraham Storck (1690)

  • Map detailing the marine features of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. Settlements and mountains are indicated and labelled.

  • A 1906 photograph of the Norwegian whaling factory ship Bucentaur in Bellsund, Spitsbergen

  • Hornsund Polish Arctic Station, photographed in 2003

  • Lilliehöökfjorden, Svalbard

  • The panorama of Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Spitsbergen)

  • Abandoned mine at Longyearbyen

  • Ships, such as MS Horyzont, are a common way for scientists to get around the island.

References

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