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Location: Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean,
Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
Geographic coordinates: 78 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Arctic Region
Area:
total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 3,587 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway
but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 nm
Climate: arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current;
cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west
and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable
most of the year
Terrain: wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered;
west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along
west and north coasts
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
Natural resources: coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc,
wildlife, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (no trees and the only bushes are crowberry and
cloudberry)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: ice floes often block up the entrance to
Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and
occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to
maritime traffic
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway;
consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60%
of the total area
Background:
First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the
islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th
and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920;
five years later it officially took over the territory.
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