Svalbard is an archipelago lying in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a group of islands ranging from 76° to 81° North, and 10° to 35° East. The archipelago is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. Three islands are populated: Spitsbergen, Bjørnøya and Hopen. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen. The Svalbard Treaty recognises Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. With the 1925 Svalbard Act, Norway chose to make Svalbard a part of the Kingdom, and it remains one of four special entities whose status is recognized by international treaty in the world today. Location map for Svalbard - created for Wikipedia File links The following pages link to this file: Svalbard Categories: Country locator maps | Svalbard | GFDL images ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Capital (and largest city) Longyearbyen Official languages Norwegian Government Region of Norway  -  Governor Per Sefland Area  -  Total 61020 km²   sq mi   -  Density 0. ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... The governor of Svalbard represents the Norwegian government in exercising its limited sovereign authority over the archipelago. ... Per Sefland (born 1949) has been governor (Norwegian: sysselmann) of Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago administered by Norway, since 1 October 2005. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... ISO 4217 Code NOK User(s) Norway Inflation 2. ... ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ... Timezone and TimeZone redirect here. ... Time zones of Europe: Light colours indicate countries that do not observe summer time Central European Time (CET) is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. ... “UTC” redirects here. ... Time zones of Europe: Light colours indicate countries that do not observe summer time Central European Summer Time (CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. ... “UTC” redirects here. ... 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. ... This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E.164. ... Country Code: 47 International Call Prefix: 00 Since 1992, land-line and mobile telephone numbers in Norway consist of eight digits, without any area codes. ... The Mergui Archipelago The Archipelago Sea, situated between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see North Pole (disambiguation). ... An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ... This article describes the unit of angle. ... Spitsbergen (formerly known as West Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian island, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. ... Bjørnøya is located north of mainland Norway and south of Spitsbergen. ... Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ... The Traité concernant le Spitsberg of February 1920 placed the arctic islands of Spitsbergen as an overseas part of Kingdom of Norway (article I). ... “Sovereign” redirects here. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Four political entities have a special position recognized by international treaty or agreement (Ã…land in Finland, Svalbard in Norway, as well as the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau in the Peoples Republic of China). ...

History

Main article: History of Svalbard

Svalbard map of 1758

Vikings and/or Russians may have discovered Svalbard as early as the 12th century. Traditional Norse accounts exist of a land known as Svalbarð - literally "cold edge". (But this land might also have been Jan Mayen, or a part of eastern Greenland.) The Dutchman Willem Barents made the first indisputable discovery of Svalbard in 1596. The islands served as an international whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Greenland whale was extirpated from this region. From 1611 to 1720 whaling took place off the western coast of Spitsbergen, by Danish, Dutch, British, French and Norwegian ships. It is estimated that the Dutch alone took 60,000 whales from their base Smeerenburg. They also provided the headquarters for many Arctic exploration expeditions. Svaldbard map of 1758 Vikings and/or Russians may have discovered Svalbard as early as the 12th century. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Spitsbergen_1758. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Spitsbergen_1758. ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... For other uses, see Netherlands (disambiguation). ... Willem Barents. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Bowhead whale range The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a baleen whale of the right whale family Balaenidae. ... The settlement of Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island in north-west Svalbard, originated with Dutch whalers before 1620: one of Europes northernmost outposts. ... 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 region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ... Explorer redirects here. ...

At the beginning of the 20th century, American, British, Swedish, Russian and Norwegian companies started coal mining. Norway's sovereignty was recognized by the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 with an addition that there would be limited military use of Svalbard and that the other nations retained the rights to their settlements; five years later Norway officially took over the territory. Some historians claim that Norway was given sovereignty as compensation for its Merchant Fleet losses during World War I, when the Norwegian Merchant fleet played an important role supplying the UK. Only Norwegian and Russian settlements survived World War II. Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... The Traité concernant le Spitsberg of February 1920 placed the arctic islands of Spitsbergen as an overseas part of Kingdom of Norway (article I). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

From the late 1940s to the early 1980s the geology of the Svalbard archipelago was investigated by teams from Cambridge University and other universities (e.g., Oxford University), led by Cambridge geologist W. Brian Harland. Many of the geographical features of the isles are named after the participants in these expeditions, or were given names by them linked to places in Cambridge (see Norwegian Polar Institute). The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... W. Brian Harland (1917 - 2003) was an eminent geologist at Cambridge University, England. ...

The largest island in the archipelago is called Spitsbergen (Dutch for "Jagged mountains"); this name was formerly used to refer to the entire archipelago, while the main island was called West Spitsbergen. Spitsbergen (formerly known as West Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian island, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. ... Map of Svalbard, showing Spitsbergen in the North Spitsbergen (or Spitzbergen in German; formerly known as West Spitsbergen or Vestspitsbergen) is the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, which is situated in the Arctic Ocean and administered by Norway. ...

Politics

Unofficial logo of the Governor of Svalbard

Main article: Politics of Svalbard

Svalbard is completely controlled by the Kingdom of Norway and is part of it. The Svalbard Treaty recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. However Norway's power over Svalbard has some limitations in taxation, environmental conservation, non-discrimination and certain military activity. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The governor of Svalbard represents the Norwegian government in exercising its limited sovereign authority over the archipelago. ... The Svalbard Treaty recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. ... The Traité concernant le Spitsberg of February 1920 placed the arctic islands of Spitsbergen as an overseas part of Kingdom of Norway (article I). ... “Sovereign” redirects here. ...

Svalbard was made a part of Norway by a Norwegian act in 1925, thus Svalbard is not a Norwegian dependency. However, under the terms of the treaty, citizens of signatory states have rights to exploit mineral deposits and other natural resources "on a footing of absolute equality". As a result, a permanent Russian settlement, more or less autonomous, grew up at Barentsburg. Another Russian settlement at Pyramiden was abandoned in 2000. Barentsburg (Russian Баренцбург) is the second largest settlement on Svalbard, with about 850 inhabitants, almost entirely Russians and Ukrainians. ... Coal mining facilities in Pyramiden, 2005 Main street with wooden Siberian-style barracks, 2005 Central square with Lenin statue and sports center, 2005 Pyramiden (Swedish, meaning the pyramid, Russian: , piramida) was a Russian settlement and coal mining community on the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. ...

According to Per Sefland, Norway's governor on the archipelago, the Svalbard Treaty of February 9, 1920 implies that "If you're able to find a job, you have the right according to the treaty to come here."^[2] The treaty states: "The nationals of all the high contracting parties [signatories] shall have equal liberty of access and entry for any reason or object whatever to the waters, fjords and ports of the territories." Therefore, some immigrants who have been denied residence in EU countries have relocated to Svalbard. The Traité concernant le Spitsberg of February 1920 placed the arctic islands of Spitsbergen as an overseas part of Kingdom of Norway (article I). ...

Seed bank

Main article: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

By the year 2007 the Norwegian government is planning on building a "doomsday" seed bank in which as many species' seeds as possible will be stored. The Norwegian government will be building this bank by hollowing out a 120-meter tunnel on Spitsbergen cut into rock with a natural temperature of - 6 degrees Celsius, refrigerating it to - 18 degrees Celsius, and then storing seeds donated by the 1,400 crop repositories maintained by countries around the world. The proposed bank will have top security blast-proof doors and would have two airlocks. The number of seeds stored will depend on the number of countries participating in the project, with the first seeds arriving in 2008. The initiative of this project is to prevent needed plants (wild, agricultural, etc.) from going extinct due to a global catastrophe such as global warming (the tunnel is 130 meters above sea-level) or nuclear war.^[3][4][5] The design of the Seed Vault as of early 2007 The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv; also called the Norwegian Seed Bank and Svalbard International Seed Vault) is a doomsday seedbank under construction on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote arctic Svalbard archipelago. ... Spitsbergen (formerly known as West Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian island, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. ... Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ... Nuclear War is a card game designed by Douglas Malewicki, and originally published in 1966. ...

Geography and nature

Main article: Geography of Svalbard

View overlooking Longyearbyen

Svalbard consists of a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean ranging from 76° to 81° North and 10° to 35° East, and forms the northern-most part of Norway and the northern-most lands of Europe. The islands cover an area of 61,022 km², of which about 60% (36,502 km²) is covered by glaciation.^[6][7] Three large islands dominate: Spitsbergen (37,673 km² or 14,550 square miles), Nordaustlandet, (Northeast Land), (14,443 km² or 5576 square miles) and Edgeøya (Edge Island) (5074 km²or 1959 square miles)^[6][8] There is also the smaller Barentsøya (1,288 km²), Kvitøya (682 km²), Prins Karls Forland (English: Prince Charles Foreland) (615 km²), Kongsøya (191 km²), Bjørnøya (English: Bear Island) (178 km²), Svenskøya (137 km²), Wilhelmøya (120 km²) and other smaller islands or skerries (621 km²).^[6] MODIS satellite photo of Svalbard, courtesy NASA Location: Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway Geographic coordinates: 78° 00 N, 20° 00 E Map references: Arctic Region Area: total: 62,049 km² land: 62,049 km² water: 0 km² note... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Svalbard Longyearbyen ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Svalbard Longyearbyen ... // This is a list of the extreme points of Europe, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location in Europe. ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... This article is about the geological formation. ... Spitsbergen (formerly known as West Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian island, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. ... Nordaustlandet (sometimes translated as North East Land) is the second largest island of Svalbard, with an area of 14,600 km². As its name suggests, it lies north east of Spitzbergen. ... Map showing Edgeøya (Edge Island) Edgeøya, occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is an uninhabited Norwegian island in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago. ... Map showing Barents Island (Barentsøya) Barentsøya or Barents Island is one of the smaller islands in the Svalbard archipelago, just north of Edge Island or Edgeøya. ... Map of Svalbard, showing Kvitøya in the north-east Kvitøya (English: The White Island) is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. ... Prince Charles Foreland, (Norwegian Prins Karls Forland or Forlandet), is an island in the Arctic archipelago Svalbard. ... Prince Charles Foreland (Norwegian: Prins Karls Forland, or just Forlandet), is an island that is part of Svalbard. ... Kongsøya is an island in Svalbard, Norway. ... Bjørnøya is located north of mainland Norway and south of Spitsbergen. ... Bear Island is the name of several places and a novel: Bjørnøya in Svalbard, also known as Bear Island Bear Island, Antarctica Bear Island (Connecticut) is one of the Thimble Islands Bear Island, County Cork is located in Ireland Bear Island, Maine is located in Northeast Harbor, Maine. ... Svenskøya is an island in Svalbard. ... Wilhelmøya is an island in Svalbard. ... Skerries may refer to a number of geographical locations: In Ireland: The Gaelic translation of Skerries is Na Sceire which means sea rocks. Skerries, Dublin, a seaside town in north Dublin Skerries is a seaside town in Fingal, north county Dublin. ...

Svalbard lies far north of the Arctic Circle. In Longyearbyen, the midnight sun lasts from April 20 to August 26, and polar night lasts from October 26 to February 15. From November 12 to the end of January there is civil polar night, a continuous period without any twilight bright enough to permit outdoor activities in the absence of artificial light. The only other non-Inuit or research settlement that has this phenomenon is Dikson near the mouth of the Yenisey River in Russia. For the fast food restaurant chain, see Arctic Circle Restaurants. ... The midnight sun at Nordkapp, Norway. ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The polar night is the night lasting more than 24 hours, usually inside the polar circles. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Twilight in Denmark, just after sunset Twilight in the midwestern US featuring Venus as a brilliant evening star and the crescent moon Finland - Lapland at midnight in July Twilight in Acapulco with Long time Exposure Early twilight in California, before sunset Twilight is the time before sunrise or after sunset... For other uses, see Inuit (disambiguation). ... The Yenisei watershed, Lake Baikal, and the settlements of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Dikson (Russian: ) is a closed urban-type settlement in Krasnoyarsk Krai. ... Енисей Length 5,550 (4,102) km Elevation of the source m Average discharge 19,600 m³/s Area watershed 2,580,000 km² Origin  ? Mouth Arctic Ocean Basin countries Russia The Yenisei basin, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk...

The unique road sign only found on Svalbard, informing people to take precautions when outside the settlements. The text reads "Applies to the whole of Svalbard"

In addition to humans, four predominantly terrestrial mammalian species inhabit the archipelago: the Svalbard field mouse Microtus epiroticus, the Arctic fox, the Svalbard reindeer (a distinct sub-species), and polar bears. Since polar bears occur very commonly on Svalbard and are known to hunt humans on occasion, all people need to take precautions when outside the settlements: this includes carrying a rifle. Nevertheless, the law protects polar bears, forbidding anyone to harm or disturb them unless it is necessary to remove a considerable danger of injury to a person.^[9] A large number of aquatic mammalian species also inhabit the archipelago, including whales, dolphins, seals and walruses. Image File history File links Fareskilt_38. ... Image File history File links Fareskilt_38. ... This article is about the animal. ... Caribou redirects here. ... This article is about the animal. ... For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation). ... This article is about the animal. ... For other uses, see Dolphin (disambiguation). ... Families Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Pinnipeds (fin-feet, lit. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of Walrus Subspecies Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) are large semi-aquatic mammals that live in the cold Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. ...

Svalbard is also a breeding ground for large numbers of seabirds, including Brunnich's and Black Guillemot, Puffin, Little Auk, Fulmar and Black-legged Kittiwake. Other seabirds include Arctic Tern, four species of skua, and the elusive Ivory Gull. The Svalbard Ptarmigan, found on the larger islands, is the only land bird present for the entire year. Only two songbirds migrate to Svalbard to breed: the Snow Bunting and the Wheatear. For more information on the bird life to be found you can check this website.Bird Watching In Norway - Svalbard Binomial name Uria lomvia (Linnaeus,, 1758) The Brunnichs Guillemot, or Thick-billed Murre, Uria lomvia, is a bird in the auk family. ... Binomial name Cepphus grylle Linnaeus, 1758 The Black Guillemot or Tystie, Cepphus grylle, is a medium-sized alcid at 32-38 cm in length, and with a 49-58 cm wingspan. ... Species Fratercula arctica Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata For prehistoric species, see article text. ... Binomial name Alle alle (Linnaeus, 1758) The Little Auk, or Dovekie, Alle alle, is a small auk, the only member of the genus Alle (Link, 1806). ... Species (Linnaeus, 1761) (A. Smith, 1840) For other uses, see Fulmar (disambiguation). ... Species Rissa tridactyla Rissa brevirostris The Kittiwakes (genus Rissa) are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae. ... Binomial name Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan, 1763[2] Breeding grounds (red), wintering grounds (blue) and migration routes (green) The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. ... For other uses: see Skua (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Lagopus mutus (Montin, 1781) The Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) is a small (31-35 cm) bird in the grouse family. ... Binomial name Plectrophenax nivalis (Linnaeus, 1758) The Snow Bunting, (Plectrophenax nivalis), is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a family now separated by most modern authors from the finches Fringillidae. ... Binomial name Oenanthe oenanthe (Linnaeus, 1758) The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. ...

There is an astonishing variety of flowering plants on Svalbard. Although they are very small, these plants use the short period of 24-hour daylight to produce colourful blossoms. See also: Flowers of Svalbard. There are 164 vascular plant species on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, not included are algae, mosses, lichens. ...

Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province. The High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) is a major Late Cretaceous large igneous province located in the Arctic. ...

Map of Svalbard

Orthographic projection centred over Svalbard

Svalbard map (from CIA) File links The following pages link to this file: Svalbard Bjørnøya Categories: CIA World Factbook images | Maps | Svalbard ... Svalbard map (from CIA) File links The following pages link to this file: Svalbard Bjørnøya Categories: CIA World Factbook images | Maps | Svalbard ... Image File history File links Orthographic_projection_over_Svalbard. ... Image File history File links Orthographic_projection_over_Svalbard. ...

Fjords

There are numerous fjords among the Svalbard islands; the five longest of which (measured from the head to open sea) are listed here:^[6] Fjord in Sunnmøre, Norway Geirangerfjord, Norway A fjord (or fiord) is a long, narrow estuary with steep sides, made when a glacial valley is filled by rising sea water levels. ...

• Wijdefjorden, 108 km
• Isfjorden (Svalbard), 107 km
• Van Mijenfjorden, 83 km
• Woodfjorden, 64 km
• Wahlenbergfjorden, 46 km

For the village in Møre og Romsdal, Norway, see Isfjorden. ...

Coastlines

Coastlines of the Svalbard islands (listed from largest island to smallest) show the extensive variability characteristic of glacial formation:^[6]

• Spitsbergen, 3,919 km
• Nordaustlandet, 1,688 km
• Edgeøya, 502 km
• Barentsøya, 205 km
• Kvitøya, 119 km
• Prins Karls Forland (Eng. Prince Charles Foreland), 320 km
• Kongsøya, 132 km
• Bjørnøya, 88 km
• Svenskøya, 62 km
• Wilhelmøya, 58 km
• Other smaller islands and skerries, 1,736 km

Spitsbergen (formerly known as West Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian island, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. ... Nordaustlandet (sometimes translated as North East Land) is the second largest island of Svalbard, with an area of 14,600 km². As its name suggests, it lies north east of Spitzbergen. ... Map showing Edgeøya (Edge Island) Edgeøya, occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is an uninhabited Norwegian island in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago. ... Map showing Barents Island (Barentsøya) Barentsøya or Barents Island is one of the smaller islands in the Svalbard archipelago, just north of Edge Island or Edgeøya. ... Map of Svalbard, showing Kvitøya in the north-east Kvitøya (English: The White Island) is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. ... Prince Charles Foreland, (Norwegian Prins Karls Forland or Forlandet), is an island in the Arctic archipelago Svalbard. ... Prince Charles Foreland (Norwegian: Prins Karls Forland, or just Forlandet), is an island that is part of Svalbard. ... Kongsøya is an island in Svalbard, Norway. ... Bjørnøya is located north of mainland Norway and south of Spitsbergen. ... Svenskøya is an island in Svalbard. ... Wilhelmøya is an island in Svalbard. ...

Mountains

Although small when compared with the mountains of Norway, the elevation of the Svalbard island mountains accounts for much of the glacial erosion:^[6]

• Newtontoppen, 1713 m
• Perriertoppen, 1712 m
• Ceresfjellet, 1675 m
• Chadwickryggen, 1640 m
• Galileotoppen, 1637 m

Newtontoppen (Mount Newton) is the largest mountain in Svalbard, at 1717 m. ...

Settlements

• Barentsburg (Баренцбург) (Russian settlement — population of 850)
• Bjørnøya (Norwegian weather station, population of 9)
• Grumantbyen (Грумант) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 1961, revival of mining operations announced in 2003)
• Hopen (Norwegian weather station, population of 4)
• Hornsund (Polish research station, population of 8)
• Isfjord radio
• Longyearbyen (population of 1,800)
• Ny-Ålesund (population of 40)
• Pyramiden (Пирамида) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 2000)
• Smeerenburg (Dutch settlement on northwestern Amsterdam Island, abandoned around 1660)
• Sveagruva (population of 210)

No roads link the settlements on the island; transportation includes boat, plane, helicopter, and snowmobile. The gateway to Svalbard is through Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen. Barentsburg (Russian Баренцбург) is the second largest settlement on Svalbard, with about 850 inhabitants, almost entirely Russians and Ukrainians. ... Bjørnøya is located north of mainland Norway and south of Spitsbergen. ... Grumant was a Soviet Russian settlement in Svalbard, Norway, abandoned in 1961. ... Chuquicamata, the second largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ... Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). ... Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Polska Stacja Polarna, Hornsund) at Polar Bear Bay in Hornsund fjord, on West Spitsbergen island, Spitsbergen archipelago operated since 1957. ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ... Ny-Ã…lesund in summer Ny-Ã…lesund (New Ã…lesund) is one of the four permanent settlements on Svalbard. ... Coal mining facilities in Pyramiden, 2005 Main street with wooden Siberian-style barracks, 2005 Central square with Lenin statue and sports center, 2005 Pyramiden (Swedish, meaning the pyramid, Russian: , piramida) was a Russian settlement and coal mining community on the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. ... The settlement of Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island in north-west Svalbard, originated with Dutch whalers before 1620: one of Europes northernmost outposts. ... Sveagruva is the third-largest settlement in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, with a population of about 200. ... For other uses, see Boat (disambiguation). ... Airplane and Aeroplane redirect here. ... For other uses, see Helicopter (disambiguation). ... A snowmobile tour at Yellowstone National Park. ... Svalbard Airport (IATA: LYR, ICAO: ENSB) is an airport in Svalbard. ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ...

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (973x596, 39 KB) Svalbard surface temperature mean monthly anomalies 1912 to 2006, in °C. Anomalies are station monthly mean temperatures minus the local full-record average for the month. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (973x596, 39 KB) Svalbard surface temperature mean monthly anomalies 1912 to 2006, in °C. Anomalies are station monthly mean temperatures minus the local full-record average for the month. ...

Climate

The North Atlantic Current moderates Svalbard's Arctic climate,^[10] keeping the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year.^[11] The average Summer temperature is around 5 degrees Celsius (°C), or 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and in winter, −12 °C (10 F). The Western coast is considerably warmer than the east, due to the North Atlantic Drift. Schematic of the worlds ocean currents. ...

Due to its history of human occupation, Svalbard has one of the longest high-latitude meteorological records on earth. Computer models of global climate have long predicted enhanced greenhouse warming at such latitudes, so the Svalbard record is of particular interest.^[12] It shows an approximate 6 °C increase in 100 years; with 4 °C increase in the last 30 years. Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. ... General Circulation Models (GCMs) are a class of computer-driven models for weather forecasting and predicting climate change, where they are commonly called Global Climate Models. ... Wikinews has related news: Scientists warn thawing Siberia may trigger global meltdown A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earths atmosphere, and the Earth surface. ...

Economy

Economic activity centres on coal mining, supplemented by fishing and trapping. In the final decades of the 20th century, tourism, research, higher education, and some high-tech enterprises like satellite relay-stations grew significantly. A 200 nautical mile (370 km) Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard was established in 1977 pursuant to the Act of 17 December 1976 relating to the Economic Zone of Norway. Despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone. Surface coal mining in Wyoming. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Tourist redirects here. ... This article is about the concept. ... The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... Sea areas in international rights Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ...

The Svalbard Undersea Cable System which started operation in January 2004 provides dual 1440 km fiber optic lines from Svalbard to Harstad via Andøy, needed for communicating with polar orbiting satellite stations on Svalbard, some owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), both United States government agencies. Svalbard Undersea Cable System consists of two 1400 km long Submarine communications cables from Harstad to Svalbard via Andøy. ... Fiber Optic strands An optical fiber in American English or fibre in British English is a transparent thin fiber for transmitting light. ... Municipality of Harstad (In the county of Troms) County Troms District HÃ¥logaland Municipality NO-1901 Administrative centre Harstad Mayor (2005) Halvar Hansen (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 249 372 km² 355 km² 0. ... County District VesterÃ¥len Municipality NO-1871 Administrative centre Andenes Mayor (2005) Jonni Helge Solsvik (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 169 656 km² 616 km² 0. ... A satellite in a polar orbit passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet (or other celestial body) on each revolution. ... For other uses, see Satellite (disambiguation). ... NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency of the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. ...

The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. Coal production has increased significantly over the past 10 years, rising from less than 500,000 tons in 1994 to over 2,500,000 tons in 2004.^[6]

Exploration for oil and natural gas is underway.

Coal mining in Svalbard

The Ny Ålesund mine was closed down in 1963 after an explosion in 1962 when 21 lives were lost, and has since been converted to a scientific post.

As of 2006, there are three operational coal mines in Svalbard. There are large mines in Sveagruva (production 2 million tonnes per year,^[13] and Barentsburg, while the small mine in Longyearbyen is used mainly to supply the town's own power plant. 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ...

Demographics

Svalbard has a population of approximately 2,400 people as of 2005. Approximately 70% of the people are Norwegian; the remaining 30% are Russian, Ukrainian and Polish. The official language of Svalbard is Norwegian. Russian is used in the Russian settlements, but formerly, Russenorsk was the lingua franca of the entire Barents Sea region. The annual population growth is -0.02% Russenorsk or Russonorsk (Norwegian for Russo-Norwegian) was a pidgin language combining elements of Russian and Norwegian, created by traders and whalers from northern Norway and the Russian Kola peninsula. ... Location of the Barents Sea. ...

Education

The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), established in 1993, is the world’s northernmost higher education institution. Located in Longyear at 78º N, the university offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses to approximately 350 students each year in Arctic sciences. The UNIS main building (dated 2002) The University Centre in Svalbard is a Norwegian state-owned limited company that provides university-level education in Arctic studies. ...

Svalbard in popular culture

• Svalbard is featured as the setting for much action in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. A gateway was created there from which one could gain access to parallel universes. The Svalbard in the books is inhabited by a race of intelligent armored polar bears (Panserbjørne), ruled by Iorek Byrnison (as of the second book).

• The Norwegian thriller Orion's Belt (1985) takes place on Svalbard.

• 'The Captain of the Polestar' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is set off Amsterdam Island at the North West of Svalbard.

• 'Svalbard is a the title of an instrumental song on the album 'Quiet Latitudes' by Anthony Boast.

• 'In the Guardians of Ga'hoole Series, Svallbard is the name of an associate of Lyze of Kiel from the northern kingdoms.

• Svalbard is a Black metal band from Québec City, Québec, Canada.

Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. ... The trilogy (U.K versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... In Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials novels, the Panserbjørne (armoured bears in Danish) are large polar bears which are most of times covered in a invulnerable cloud-iron armor. ... Iorek Byrnison is a Panserbjørne (armoured bear) from Philip Pullmans trilogy His Dark Materials. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... Guardians of GaHoole is The New York Times bestselling book series written by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Richard Cowdrey. ... This article is about the musical genre. ...

References

UNINETT Norid AS is the main keeper and administrator of the Norwegian country code top-level domain .no. Its a non-commercial organization cost run by the hosting charges, supervised by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunication Authority. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... Statistics Norway (Statistisk sentralbyrå or SSB) is the Norwegian statistics bureau. ... Map of Norway. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Svalbard

• Governor of Svalbard – Official site
• A Geographical-Historical Outline of Svalbard
• Outline of the Physical Geography and Geology of Svalbard by Ólafur Ingólfsson
• Svalbard travel guide from Wikitravel
• Svalbard on the CIA World Factbook
• Norwegian Polar Institute Place Names of Svalbard Database (searchable database with name origins and map)
• Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police: Report to the Storting (1999–2000) on Svalbard - extensive report on political, administrative, economical and scientific matters relating to Svalbard
• Svalbard Design Group – Website of Design group named in tribute to Svalbard

v • d • e Overseas areas and dependencies of Norway

Bouvet Island · Jan Mayen · Queen Maud Land · Peter I Island · Svalbard Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ... The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police (Justis- og politidepartementet) is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of justice, police and domestic intelligence. ... There are 164 vascular plant species on the Norwegian island of Svalbard. ... The governor of Svalbard represents the Norwegian government in exercising its limited sovereign authority over the archipelago. ... Svaldbard map of 1758 Vikings and/or Russians may have discovered Svalbard as early as the 12th century. ... The Svalbard Treaty recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. ... The Traité concernant le Spitsberg of February 1920 placed the arctic islands of Spitsbergen as an overseas part of Kingdom of Norway (article I). ... .sj is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands. ... Barentsburg (Russian Баренцбург) is the second largest settlement on Svalbard, with about 850 inhabitants, almost entirely Russians and Ukrainians. ... Grumant is a Soviet Russian settlement, abandoned in 1961. ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ... Ny-Ã…lesund in summer Ny-Ã…lesund (New Ã…lesund) is one of the four permanent settlements on Svalbard. ... Coal mining facilities in Pyramiden, 2005 Main street with wooden Siberian-style barracks, 2005 Central square with Lenin statue and sports center, 2005 Pyramiden (Swedish, meaning the pyramid, Russian: , piramida) was a Russian settlement and coal mining community on the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. ... The settlement of Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island in north-west Svalbard, originated with Dutch whalers before 1620: one of Europes northernmost outposts. ... Sveagruva is the third-largest settlement in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, with a population of about 200. ... Map showing Barents Island (Barentsøya) Barentsøya or Barents Island is one of the smaller islands in the Svalbard archipelago, just north of Edge Island or Edgeøya. ... Bjørnøya is located north of mainland Norway and south of Spitsbergen. ... Danskøya is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. ... Map showing Edgeøya (Edge Island) Edgeøya, occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is an uninhabited Norwegian island in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago. ... Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). ... Kong Karls Land or King Charles Land is an island group in the Svalbard archipelago, in Arctic Ocean. ... Kongsøya is an island in Svalbard, Norway. ... Map of Svalbard, showing Kvitøya in the north-east Kvitøya (English: The White Island) is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. ... LÃ¥gøya is an island in Svalbard, Norway. ... Nordaustlandet (sometimes translated as North East Land) is the second largest island of Svalbard, with an area of 14,600 km². As its name suggests, it lies north east of Spitzbergen. ... Spitsbergen (formerly known as West Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian island, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. ... Svenskøya is an island in Svalbard. ... Wilhelmøya is an island in Svalbard. ... Hornsund - the southernmost fiord on Spitsbergen island. ... Isfjord lies on Spitsbergens west coast. ... Van Mijenfjorden (labelled b) reaches from Bellsund in the west to Sveagruva in Spitsbergens interior. ... Wijdefjord (labelled n) lies in the north of Spitsbergen. ... Map of Svalbard Map showing the location of the Svalbard archipelago. ... Forlandet National Park lies on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. ... Nordenskiöld Land National Park lies on Spitsbergen island in theSvalbard archipelago, Norway. ... Map of Svalbard Nordre Isfjorden Land National Park lies on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. ... Northwest Spitsbergen National Park (Nordvest-Spitsbergen nasjonalpark) is located on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and includes parts of northwest Spitzbergen (Albert I Land and Haakon VII Land) and nearby islands such as Danskøya and Moffen. ... Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park lies on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. ... Sør-Spitsbergen National Park lies on south end of Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. ... Newtontoppen (Mount Newton) is the largest mountain in Svalbard, at 1717 m. ... Olav V Land is the largest glacier of Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard. ... The mines at Barentsburg seen from the docks. ... Bjørnøen AS is a Norwegian government enterprise that owns all land and some heritage buildings on the uninhabitated overseas territory of Bear Island (Bjørnøya in Norwegian, thus the name). ... Kings Bay is a government enterprise owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry that operates the entire settlement of Ny-Ã…lesund on Svalbard. ... Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) is a Norwegian] coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. ... The Norwegian Polar Institute (in Norwegian: Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norways national institution for polar research. ... Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Polska Stacja Polarna, Hornsund) at Polar Bear Bay in Hornsund fjord, on West Spitsbergen island, Spitsbergen archipelago operated since 1957. ... The design of the Seed Vault as of early 2007 The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv; also called the Norwegian Seed Bank and Svalbard International Seed Vault) is a doomsday seedbank under construction on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote arctic Svalbard archipelago. ... Svalbard Undersea Cable System consists of two 1400 km long Submarine communications cables from Harstad to Svalbard via Andøy. ... The UNIS main building (dated 2002) The University Centre in Svalbard is a Norwegian state-owned limited company that provides university-level education in Arctic studies. ... Svalbard Airport (IATA: LYR, ICAO: ENSB) is an airport in Svalbard. ... Ny-Ã…lesund Airport, Hamnerabben (ICAO: ENAS) (Norwegian: Ny-Ã…lesund Lufthavn, Hamnerabben) is an airport serving the former mining community of Ny-Ã…lesund in the territory of Svalbard. ... Svea Airport (ICAO: ENSA) (Norwegian: Svea lufthavn), is an airport that services the mining community of Sveagruva on the Norwegian overseas territory of Svalbard. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Queen Maud Land (Norwegian: Dronning Maud Land) is the part of Antarctica lying between the terminus of Stancomb-Wills Glacier, at 20°W, and Shinnan Glacier, at 44° 38E. It has a land area of approximately 2,500,000 km², mostly covered by the Antarctic ice sheet. ... Fabian von Bellingshausen discovered Peter I Island (in Norwegian ) off West Antarctica on January 21, 1821. ...

Coordinates: 78°13′N, 15°33′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...