Barentsøya
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Arctic Ocean |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Archipelago | Svalbard |
Area | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). 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 |
Barentsøya, sometimes anglicized as Barents Island, is an island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway, lying between 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.
Geography
Barentsøya has an approximately square shape, with maximum lengths and widths of about fifty kilometers,[1] and an area of 1,288 km2 (497 sq mi). A significant part of the island, more than 500 km2 (190 sq mi), is glaciated. The ice cap of Barentsjøkulen covers a large part of the island, with the largest offsprings Besselsbreen (north), Duckwitzbreen (west), Freemanbreen (south), and Hübnerbreen (southeast).[2][3][4][5][6] Barentsjøkulen has the two large ice domes of Peer Gyntslottet and Solveigdomen.[7][8] The mountain of Schweinfurthberget is a nunatak of Barentsjøkulen.[9]
At the northern side of Barentsøya is the ice-free peninsula of Frankenhalvøya, between Ginevrabotnen at the western side and Dorstbukta to the east.[10][11] Grimheia is an ice-free mountainous area extending over a length of about thirteen kilometers at the northern part of the island.[12] The westernmost point of the island is the headland of Mistakodden.[13] At the southern part of Barentsøya are the mountains of Krefftberget and Høgrinden, while Jeppeberget is located to the southeast.[14][15][16] The largest lakes of the island are Veslemjøsa in Heimarka, and Dalskilvatnet between the valleys of Sjodalen and Grimdalen.[17][18]
Geology and ecology
In geologic time much of the surface rock has been eroded by glaciation.[19] The entire area is visited by polar bears, who have a recognisable genetic differentiation specialised to the Barents Sea region.[20]
See also
References
- C. Michael Hogan (2008) Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus, globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
- Svalbard Images: Barentsøya (URL accessed 26 December 2008)
Line notes
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Svalbard Images
- ↑ C. Michael Hogan, 2008