Beerenberg is a
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
dominating the northeastern end of the Norwegian island of
Jan Mayen
Jan Mayen () is a Norway, Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: la ...
. It is high and is the world's northernmost
subaerial active
volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
and the
only active volcano in
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 ...
. The volcano is topped by a mostly ice-filled
crater
A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...
about wide,
with numerous peaks along its rim including the highest summit, Haakon VII Toppen, on its western side.
Name
Its name is
Dutch for "Bear Mountain" and comes from the
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 seen there by Dutch whalers in the early 17th century.
Description
The upper slopes of the volcano are largely ice-covered, with several major glaciers including five which reach the sea. The longest of the glaciers is the
Weyprecht Glacier, which flows from the summit crater via a breach through the northwestern portion of the crater rim, and extends about down to the sea.
Beerenberg is composed primarily of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
ic
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
flows with minor amounts of
tephra
Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism.
Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, ...
. Numerous
cinder cone
A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, volcanic cone, conical landform of loose pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are forme ...
s have been formed along slope
fissure
A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes.
Ground fissure
A ...
s.
History
There was an Austrian attempt to reach the summit of Beerenberg, presumably whilst the Austrians had a weather station on the island in 1882–83, but the attempt failed due to poor weather. The first recorded ascent was in the summer of 1921, by an expedition led by Dr.
Paul Louis Mercanton, joined by
James Wordie
Sir James Mann Wordie CBE FRS FRSGS LLD (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist. Friends knew him as Jock Wordie.
He was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954. Early life an ...
,
T.C. Lethbridge and three others. The British expedition was taken to the island by the Norwegian meteorological service, which was establishing a wireless station on the island.
Its most recent eruptions took place in 1970
and 1985, both of which were flank eruptions from fissures on the northeast side of the mountain. Other eruptions with historical records occurred in 1732, 1818, and 1851.
See also
*
List of volcanoes in Norway
*
List of mountains in Norway by prominence
References
External links
New Jan Mayen Homepage including general info, photos, blog, and webcam
Old Jan Mayen Homepage, including general info, photos, blog, and webcam
Beerenberg Expedition 2008 PicturesPictures and a map of Beerenberg1970 Beerenberg volcanic eruption captured on film
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Landforms of Jan Mayen
Volcanoes of Norway
Mountains of Norway
Holocene stratovolcanoes
Ridge volcanoes
Active volcanoes
Volcanoes of the Arctic Ocean
Extreme points of Norway