Barentsøya, anglicized as Barents Island, is an

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

archipelago of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, lying between

Edgeøya Edgeøya (), anglicised as Edge Island, is a Norway, Norwegian island located in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; with an area of , it is the third-largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the Søraust-Svalbard ...

and

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

. To the north, in the sound between Barentsøya and Spitsbergen, lies the island of Kükenthaløya. To the south, the

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

separating Barents Island from Edgeøya is

Freemansundet Freemansundet is the sound separating Barentsøya, to the north, from Edgeøya, in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. Background The straight is named after Alderman Ralph Freeman, who was involved in the English whaling trade in the early 17th cen ...

. Barentsøya has no permanent human inhabitants. It is part of the

Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve () is located in the south-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Edgeøya and Barentsøya in addition to a number of smaller islands, including Thousand Islands (Sval ...

and forms a

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

for several species, including

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

s and kittiwakes.

History

The island was named after

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

explorer

Willem Barents Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer. Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. He reached as far ...

who, despite discovering Svalbard, never sighted Barentsøya itself. The name "Barents Land" was only given after an 1865 Swedish expedition. Previously, Dutch whaling captains had referred to it on maps as ''Zuyd Ooster Land'' ("Southeastern Land") as early as 1710. In 1936, Norway built four cabins on the island to formally establish control.

Geography

Barentsøya has an approximately square shape, with maximum lengths and widths of about fifty kilometers, and an area of . A significant part of the island, more than , is glaciated. The ice cap of

Barentsjøkulen Barentsjøkulen is a glacier on Barentsøya, Svalbard. The glacier covers an area of about . It is named after the Barents Island, which again is named after Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz. Barents Island is on the Barents Sea. The glacier has ...

covers a large part of the island, with the largest offspring

Besselsbreen Besselsbreen is a glacier on Barentsøya, Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continen ...

(north),

Duckwitzbreen Duckwitzbreen is a glacier on Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is an offshoot of Barentsjøkulen, reaching down to the sea in the western direction. The glacier is named after German politician Arnold Duckwitz Arnold Duckwitz (27 January 1802 in Bremen ...

(west),

Freemanbreen Freemanbreen is a glacier on Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is an offshoot of Barentsjøkulen, reaching down to the sea in the southern direction, into Freeman Strait Freemansundet is the sound separating Barentsøya, to the north, from Edgeøya, in t ...

(south), and

Hübnerbreen Hübnerbreen is a glacier at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is located at the eastern part of the island, and is named after mining engineer and Arctic explorer Adolf Hübner. The mountain of Buklerimen separates Hübnerbreen from Freemanbreen Freema ...

(southeast). Barentsjøkulen has the two large ice domes of

Peer Gyntslottet Peer or peeress may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Education * Peer learning, an educational practice in which stude ...

and Solveigdomen. The mountain of is a nunatak of Barentsjøkulen. It has a height of 590

m.a.s.l. Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level vari ...

, is the highest mountain of Barentsøya, and is named after German scientist

Georg August Schweinfurth Georg August Schweinfurth (29 December 1836 – 19 September 1925) was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German botanist and ethnologist who explored East Central Africa. Life and explorations He was born at Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Emp ...

. At the northern side of Barentsøya is the ice-free peninsula of

Frankenhalvøya Frankenhalvøya is a peninsula at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It has a length of about nine kilometers, and a width of six kilometers. The peninsula is named after the German region of Franconia. The bay of Dorstbukta Dorstbukta is a bay at Barentsøy ...

, between

Ginevra Bay Ginevra Bay () is the inner part of Storfjorden, Svalbard, between Barentsøya and Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spel ...

at the western side and

Dorstbukta Dorstbukta is a bay at Barentsøya, Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental E ...

to the east.

Grimheia Grimheia is a mountainous area at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It extends over a length of about thirteen kilometers at the northern part of the island. East of the area is the valley of Grimdalen with the river of Grima Grima may refer to: People w ...

is an ice-free mountainous area extending over a length of about thirteen kilometers at the northern part of the island. The westernmost point of the island is the headland of

Mistakodden Mistakodden ("the mistake point") is a headland at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is the westernmost point of Barentsøya. References

Headlands of Svalbard Barentsøya {{svalbard-geo-stub ...

. At the southern part of Barentsøya are the mountains of Krefftberget and Høgrinden, while Jeppeberget is located to the southeast. The largest lakes of the island are

Veslemjøsa Veslemjøsa is a lake at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is named after Mjøsa Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway and the fourth deepest in Norway and Europe. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its mai ...

Heimarka Heimarka is a plain at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is located between the glacier of Besselsbreen and the valley of Grimdalen. The lake of Veslemjøsa Veslemjøsa is a lake at Barentsøya, Svalbard. It is named after Mjøsa Mjøsa is the large ...

, and Dalskilvatnet between the valleys of

Sjodalen Sjodalen is a wide, gently sloping valley in Southern Norway, draining the eastern parts of Jotunheimen. The river Sjoa gives its name to the valley. Sjodalen is generally accepted to start at the outlet from the deep mountain-lake Gjende. The va ...

and Grimdalen. Dorst_bay

Around 43 percent of the island's area is

glaciated A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires d ...

, and much of the surface rock has been eroded over millions of years by

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

.Svalbard Images

References

Line notes

*C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Polar Bear: ''Ursus maritimus'', globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

External links

Svalbard Images: Barentsøya
(URL accessed 26 December 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barentsoya Islands of Svalbard Uninhabited islands of Norway

History

Geography

See also

References

Line notes

External links