Jan Mayen

Orthographic projection centred on Jan Mayen Island.

Jan Mayen Island, a part of the Kingdom of Norway, is a 55 km long (southwest-northeast) and 373 km² large arctic volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean, partly covered by glaciers. It has two parts: larger Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, both linked by an isthmus 2.5 km wide. It lies 600 km north of Iceland, 500 km east of Greenland and 1,000 km west of the Norwegian mainland at 70.97° N 8.6° W. The island is mountainous, the highest summit being Beerenberg volcano in the north (2,277 m). The isthmus is the location of the two largest lakes of the island, Sørlaguna (South Lagoon), and Nordlaguna (North Lagoon). A third lake is called Ullerenglaguna (Ullereng Lagoon). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File links Orthographic projection centred on Jan Mayen Island File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Orthographic projection centred on Jan Mayen Island File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ... A small island in the Adriatic sea An island is any piece of land smaller than a continent and larger than a rock, that is completely surrounded by water. ... A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... The Isthmus of Panama connects North and South America. ... Beerenberg is the worlds northernmost active volcano located at Jan Mayen. ... Volcano 1. ...

Economy

Jan Mayen Island has no exploitable natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations located on the island. It has one unpaved airstrip about 1585 meters long, and its 124.1 kilometers of coast include no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorages. Commercial whaling took place between 1633 and 1640 by the Dutch but ended when the Dutch team of seven died of scurvy and the Greenland right whale nearly became extinct. A dispute between Norway and Denmark regarding the fishing exclusion zone between Jan Mayen and Greenland was settled in 1988 granting Denmark with the greater area of sovereignty. Scurvy (N.Lat. ... Binomial name Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758 Bowhead Whale range The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a marine mammal of the order Cetacea. ...

Jan Mayen is an integrated geographical body of Norway. Since 1995 it has been administered by the county governor (fylkesmann) of Nordland; however, some authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Logistics Organisation-CIS, a branch of the armed forces. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... County NO-18 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Bodø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 2 38,456 km² 11. ...

Society

The only inhabitants on the island are personnel working for the Royal Norwegian Defence Force or the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. There are 14 people who spend the winter on the island, but the population may double during the summer, when heavy maintenance is performed. Personnel serve either six months or one year, and are exchanged twice a year in April and October. The main purpose of the military personnel is to operate a Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) base. The support crew, including mechanics, cooks and a nurse are among the military personnel. Both the LORAN transmitter and the meteorological station are located a few kilometers away from the settlement Olonkinbyen (English: Olonkin City), where all personnel live. LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is a terrestrial navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that use the time interval between radio signals received from three or more stations to determine the position of a ship or aircraft. ... A technician checks data from a weather station. ... Olonkinbyen is a settlement on the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen. ...

Transport to the island is provided by C-130 Hercules military transport planes operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force, that land at Jan Mayen Airport, which only has a gravel runway. The planes fly in from Bodø Main Air Station eight times a year. Since the airport doesn't have any instrument landing possibilities, visibility is required, and it is not uncommon for the planes to have to return to Bodø, two hours away, without landing. For heavy goods, freight ships come during the summer. But there are no harbours and the ships must anchor up. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for military forces worldwide. ... Ranks Norwegian military ranks The Royal Norwegian Air Force (or RNoAF) is the youngest branch of the Norwegian armed forces. ... The Bodø Main Air Station, situated near Bodø, Norway, is the biggest air station in Norway operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. ...

The island is inhabited by personnel operating a Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) base with a staff of 14 and a weather services station with a staff of four. The staff members of both stations live in Olonkinbyen (English: Olonkin City), as the living quarters by the Loran-C base are called. The airport is situated near the town. LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is a terrestrial navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that use the time interval between radio signals received from three or more stations to determine the position of a ship or aircraft. ... Weather is a term that encompasses phenomena in the atmosphere of a planet. ... Olonkinbyen is a settlement on the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen. ...

The island has no indigenous population, but is assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code SJ, the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .no (.sj is allocated but not used) and data code JN. Its amateur radio call sign prefix is JX. ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes; they form the best known part of the standard ISO 3166-1 and (with a few changes) are used for Internet domain names. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name. ... A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ... .no is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Norway. ... .sj is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands. ... Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is a hobby and public service enjoyed by about 3 million people[1] throughout the world. ... Call sign can refer to different types of call signs: Airline call sign Aviator call sign Cosmonaut call sign Radio and television call signs Tactical call sign, also known as a tactical designator See also: International Callsign Allocations, Maritime Mobile Service Identity This is a disambiguation page — a navigational...

History

The first certain discovery of the island is from 1614. There are earlier claims and possible discoveries, even as early as the early 6th century. Some historians believe that an Irish monk, Brendan, who was known as a good sailor, was close to Jan Mayen in the early 6th century. He came back from one of his voyages and reported that he had been close to a black island, which was on fire, and that there was a terrible noise in the area. He thought that he might have found the entrance to hell. Viking sailors are also believed to have known about the island. Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... St. ...

The island is named after the Dutchman Jan Jacobs May van Schellinkhout who visited the island in 1614. His first mate did some mapping of the coast and named the island Jan Mayen. Jan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout was a Dutch seafarer and explorer originally from the province Friesland. ...

It is assumed that Henry Hudson discovered the island in 1607 and called it Hudson's Tutches or Touches. Thereafter it was observed several times by navigators who claimed its discovery and renamed it. Thus, in 1611 or the following year whalers from Hull named it Trinity Island; in 1612 Jean Vrolicq, a French whaler, called it Île de Richelieu; and in 1614 English captain John Clarke named it Isabella. No portrait of Hudson is known to be in existence. ... Events January 20 - Tidal wave swept along the Bristol Channel, killing 2000 people. ... Events June 23 - Henry Hudsons crew maroons him, his son and 7 others in a boat November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ... Hull or Kingston upon Hull is a British city situated on the north bank of the Humber estuary. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... There are a number of men named John Clarke, including: John Clarke (1609-1676), the co-founder of Rhode Island John Clarke, the pseudonym adopted by Richard Cromwell after his abdication John Clarke (dean of Salisbury) (1682-1757), dean of Salisbury Cathedral, mathematician, natural philosopher, and younger brother of Samuel...

In 1882-83 a Hungarian-Austrian expedition stayed one year at Jan Mayen performed extensive mapping of the area, their maps being used until the 1950s. Between 1900 and 1920 there were also a number of Norwegian trappers, spending the winters on Jan Mayen, white and blue foxes in addition to some polar bears. But the exploitation soon made the profits decline, and the hunting ended. 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ...

The first meteorolgical station was opened in 1921 by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, who annexed the island in 1922 for Norway. By law of February 27, 1930 the island was made part of the Kingdom of Norway. During World War II Jan Mayen was not occupied by Germans as continental Norway was in 1940, but still the meterologists chose to burn down the station. In 1941 they returned with soldiers to rebuild the station. In 1943 the Americans established a radio locating station named Atlantic City to try to locate German radio bases on Greenland. 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ...

After the war the meteorological station was located at Atlantic City, but moved in 1949 to a new location. Radio Jan Mayen also served as an important radio station for ship traffic in the Arctic Ocean. In 1959 NATO decided to build the Loran-C network in the Atlantic Ocean, and one of the transmitters had to be on Jan Mayen. By 1961 the new military installations, including a new air field was operational. NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is a terrestrial navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

For some time scientists doubted if there could be any activity in the volcano Beerenberg, but in 1970 the volcano erupted, and added another 3 square km of land mass to the island during the 3-4 weeks it lasted. It had more eruptions in 1973 and in 1985, the last until this date. During an eruption the sea temperature around the island may increase from just over zero Celsius to about 30 degrees. Volcano 1. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Historic stations and huts on the island are Hoyberg, Vera, Olsbu, Puppebu (cabin), Gamlemetten or Gamlestasjonen (the old weather station), Jan Mayen Radio, Helenehytta, Margarethhytta, and Ulla (a cabin at the foot of the Beerenberg).

Bibliography

• Andreas Umbreit, SPITSBERGEN: Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Jan Mayen, Bradt Travel Guides, U.K, 2005

External links

• Satellite Radar image of Jan Mayen
• Photographs and information on Jan Mayen
• Jan Mayen crew
• LORAN-C mast Jan Mayen
• Information and history on Jan Mayen/Beerenberg

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 70.97° -8.6°
  • Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
  • Aerial image from TerraServer
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia

Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Overseas areas and dependencies of Norway
Bouvet Island · Jan Mayen · Queen Maud Land  · Peter I Island · Svalbard