Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. The islands were first used as a whaling base by whalers who sailed far north in pursuit of whales for blubber in the 17th and 18th centuries.
About Svalbard in brief
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. The islands were first used as a whaling base by whalers who sailed far north in pursuit of whales for blubber in the 17th and 18th centuries. Coal mining started at the beginning of the 20th century, and several permanent communities were established. Svalbard and Jan Mayen are collectively assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code \”SJ\”. Both areas are administered by Norway, though they are separated by a distance of over 950 kilometres and have very different administrative structures. Seven national parks and twenty-three nature reserves cover two-thirds of the archipelagos, protecting the largely untouched, yet fragile, natural environment. Approximately 60% of the Archipelago is covered with glaciers, and the islands feature many mountains and fjords. The flora take advantage of the long period of midnight sun to compensate for the polar night. The area is a breeding ground for many seabirds, and also features polar bears, reindeer, the Arctic fox, and certain marine mammals. Since 2002, the main settlement, Longyearbyen, has had an elected local government, somewhat similar to mainland municipalities. No roads connect the settlements; instead snowmobiles, aircraft and boats serve inter-community transport.
The name SValbard comes from an older native name for the arch islands, Svalbarð, composed of the well-attested Old Norse words svalr and barð. The name Spitzbergen originated with Dutch navigator and explorer Willem Barentsz, who described the \”pointed mountains\” or, in Dutch, spitse bergen that he saw on the west coast of the main island, Spitsburgen. The S valbard treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the 1925 Sval Bard Act made Svalard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Norwegian Store Norske and the Russian Arktikugol remain the only mining companies in place. Since the Sval Ard Treaty of 1920, the Norwegian state has taken possession of all unclaimed land, or 2% of all land, in the area. Since it is located north of the Arctic Circle, it experiences midnight sun in summer and night in winter, and it experiences 95° sun in winter and 95° winter in winter. It is not part of geographical Norway, but forms an unincorporated area administered by a governor appointed by the Norwegian government, and a special jurisdiction subject to the S Valbard Treaty that is outside of the Schengen Area, the Nordic Passport Union and the European Economic Area. The land area is 61,022 km2 and dominated by the island of Spits Bergen, which is followed by Edgeøy, Nordaastlandet, Bjørnøya and Hopen Hopen.
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This page is based on the article Svalbard published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
