Svalbard
Svalbard is a major Arctic group of islands located deep within the Arctic Circle. The Barents Sea lies on their southeastern side, the Greenland Sea on their western side. The islands are situated 340 km west, along the 80 degree North line of latitude, from the islands of Franz Josef Land and 460 km southeast from the Kronprins Christian Land region of northeastern Greenland. The islands constitute the northernmost territories of Norway, located 660 km to the south-southeast
The 61,022 km² archipelago is dominated by its three largest islands: Spitsbergen (37,673 km²) on the west, Nordaustlandet (14,443) km² on the northeast and Edgeøya (5,074 km²) on the southeast. In addition to the main islands there are many smaller islands and islets. Of these, the largest include: Barentsøya (1,288 km²) on the east, Kvitøya (682 km²) in the far northeast of the group, Prins Karls Forland (615 km²) just off the northwestern coast of Spitsbergen, Kongsøya (191 km²) and Svenskøya (137 km²), the latter two islands forming part of the Kong Karls Land group, Wilhelmøya (120 km²), and the elongate Hopen (47 km²) in the far southeast. The Svalbard archipelago also includes the distant outlier of Bjørnøya (178 km²) — often known as Bear Island — located 236 km south-southeast from the southern tip of Spitsbergen.
Much of the Svalbard landscape, particularly the island of Spitsbergen, is mountainous. A highest elevation of 1,713 m above sea level is reached at Newtontoppen on northeastern Spitsbergen. Other significant peaks include: Perriertoppen (1,712 m), Ceresfjellet (1,675 m), Chadwickryggen (1,640 m), and Galileotoppen (1,637 m), all of which are located upon Spitsbergen. Mountains are characterised by rugged topography, often with jagged peaks, and steep slopes. The permafrost landscape of the lower elevations contains many of the characteristic features of such landscapes, such as pingos, ice wedges, sorted stone circles and stripes, summer-flowing braided river systems and small lakes. The coastlines are punctured by large glacially-eroded fjords — particularly the northern and western coasts of Spitsbergen, where the Wijdefjorden and Isfjorden fjords have lengths of 108 km and 107 km, respectively. Coastal zones, where relief allows, contain strandflat topography — low-lying plains with marine deposits formed by coastal glacial activity.
Some 60 per cent of the Svalbard archipelago lies beneath glaciers and ice caps. On Spitsbergen, large valley glaciers descend to both the east and west coasts of the island. The largest ice caps are found on the island of Nordaustlandet, with the Austfonna ice cap (8,105 km²) occupying the southern sections of the island; Austffonna has an ice thickness of up to 560 m, rising in a dome to a height of 738 m above sea level. The northern section of Nordaustlandet is home to the smaller Vestfonna ice cap (2,510 km²). The major ice mass on Spitsbergen is the Olav V Land glacier, in the northeast, at 4.150 km². The easetern islands of Edgeøya, Barentsøya and Kvitøya also contain small ice caps, the latter island being almost entirely covered by the 705 km² Kvitøyjøkulen ice cap.
Svalabrd has an Arctic climate that is moderated by the North Atlantic Current which brings low pressure systems to the islands. The average annual temperature at Longyearbyen is -4 °C, although temperatures around the low-lying coastal zones are considerably milder than those of the mountainous interior. Average winter and summer temperatures at Longyearbyen are -12 °C and 5 °C, respectively. The climate is dry, with most precipitation falling as snow. Most rainfall, around 200 mm at sea level, arrives from the Barents Sea to the east. High winds are common during the winter months, with fogs common in the summer months; spring can bring cloud-free sunny weather to the islands.
Some 65 per cent of Svalbard is under some form of protection. There are 6 national parks (Forlandet, Nordenskold Land, Nordre Isfjorden, Northwest Spitsbergen, Sassen-Bunsow Land and South Spitsbergen), 3 nature reserves (Island of Hopen, Moffen and Northeast Svalbard), and 15 bird sanctuaries.
