Northwest Spitsbergen National Park
Encyclopedia
Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park is located on the Norwegian
archipelago of Svalbard
and includes parts of northwest Spitsbergen
(Albert I Land
and Haakon VII Land
) and nearby islands such as Danskøya
and Moffen
. The park was established by royal resolution on June 1, 1973, and contains, among other things, warm springs and remains of volcanoes in Bockfjorden.
The national park also contains innumerable colonies of seabird
s, in addition to Svalbard reindeer
and arctic fox
. It is also a hibernating area for polar bear
s, and walrus
can be found there. There are remains of whaling
stations and graves from the 17th century. In addition there are remains of several Arctic expeditions, for instance in Virgohamna
, Danskøya, the launching point for Swedish
engineer S. A. Andrée
's failed 1897 attempt to reach the North Pole
in a hydrogen balloon
.
s on earth at almost 80 degrees north latitude. The first documentation of these springs was in the late 1800s. Hoel and Haltedahl studied these two hot springs in some detail. They reported that the Jotun hot spring has a temperature of 24.5°C
and the Troll hot spring has a temperature of 28.3°C
.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
archipelago of Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
and includes parts of northwest Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
(Albert I Land
Albert I Land
Albert I Land is the land area of the northwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, bordering to Haakon VII Land.The area is named after Albert I, Prince of Monaco.Albert I Land is the part of Spitsbergen that was first observed by Willem Barentz in 1596...
and Haakon VII Land
Haakon VII Land
Haakon VII Land is a land area at the northwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, between Woodfjorden and Kongsfjorden.The area is named after Haakon VII of Norway....
) and nearby islands such as Danskøya
Danskøya
Danskøya is an island in Norway's Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It lies just off the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago, near to Magdalenefjorden. Just to the north lies Amsterdamøya. Like many of Svalbard's islands, Danskøya is uninhabited...
and Moffen
Moffen
Moffen is a small, low island north of the mouth of Wijdefjorden, on the northern coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago...
. The park was established by royal resolution on June 1, 1973, and contains, among other things, warm springs and remains of volcanoes in Bockfjorden.
The national park also contains innumerable colonies of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, in addition to Svalbard reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
and arctic fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
. It is also a hibernating area for polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s, and walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
can be found there. There are remains of whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
stations and graves from the 17th century. In addition there are remains of several Arctic expeditions, for instance in Virgohamna
Virgohamna
Virgohamna is a small bay on the northern coast of Danskøya, an island off the northwestern coast of Spitsbergen, the main island of the Svalbard archipelago...
, Danskøya, the launching point for Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
engineer S. A. Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
's failed 1897 attempt to reach the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
in a hydrogen balloon
Balloon (aircraft)
A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
.
Hot springs
The Troll and Jotun hot springs in the park along the edge of the Bockfjorden are the northernmost documented terrestrial hot springHot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s on earth at almost 80 degrees north latitude. The first documentation of these springs was in the late 1800s. Hoel and Haltedahl studied these two hot springs in some detail. They reported that the Jotun hot spring has a temperature of 24.5°C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
and the Troll hot spring has a temperature of 28.3°C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
.