Barentsøya

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Barentsøya
Geography
Location Arctic Ocean
Coordinates 78°25′N 21°27′E / 78.417°N 21.450°E / 78.417; 21.450Coordinates: 78°25′N 21°27′E / 78.417°N 21.450°E / 78.417; 21.450
Archipelago Svalbard
Area 1,288 km2 (497 sq mi)
558 km2 (215 sq mi) glaciated.
Coastline 205 km (127.4 mi)
Highest elevation 590 m (1,940 ft)
Highest point Schweinfurthberget
Country
Norway
Demographics
Population 0
Hut and polar bear on Barents island

Barentsøya, sometimes anglicized as Barents Island, is an island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway, lying between Edgeøya (Edgeøya) and Spitsbergen. Barents Island has no permanent human inhabitants. Named for the Dutch explorer Willem Barents (who actually never sighted the island), it is a part of Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve.

An Arctic island, around 43 per cent of its area of 1,288 square kilometres (497 sq mi) is glaciated. To the north, in the sound between Barentsøya and Spitsbergen, lies the island of Kükenthaløya. To the south, the sound separating Barents Island from Edgeøya is Freemansundet.

Geology and ecology

In geologic time much of the surface rock has been eroded by glaciation.[1] The entire area is visited by polar bears, who have a recognisable genetic differentiation specialised to the Barents Sea region.[2]

See also

  • List of islands of Norway
Landscape on Barents island

References

Line notes

  1. ↑ Svalbard Images
  2. ↑ C. Michael Hogan, 2008
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