Rossøya, sometimes referred to as Ross Island in English, is an island located in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

. It is a part of

Sjuøyane Sjuøyane (English: ''Seven Islands'') is the northernmost part of the Svalbard archipelago north of mainland Norway, and some 20 km north of the eastern major island Nordaustlandet. The islands are the northernmost landmass reachable by normal ...

, a group of islands 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, some 20 km north of the coast of

Nordaustlandet Nordaustlandet (Anglicised as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under large ice ca ...

in Arctic Norway. Rossøya is located 100 m north-northwest of the somewhat larger island Vesle Tavleøya. The northern point of Rossøya, at 80° 49′ 44.41″ North, is the northernmost point in Svalbard, and thereby also in the Kingdom 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 ...

. The distance to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

is 1024.3 kilometers (637 mi / 553 nm), to Nordkapp on the Norwegian mainland 1084 km and to Pysen, off the southern tip of mainland Norway, 2580 km. Some sources describe Rossøya as the northernmost point of Europe, but this requires that

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

be considered part of Asia, since Cape Fligely on

Rudolf Island Prince Rudolf Land, Crown Prince Rudolf Land, Prince Rudolf Island or Rudolf Island () is the northernmost island of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia and is home to the northernmost point in Russia. Owing to the island's location, its shelter ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, is located at 81° 48′ 24″ North, which is 109 km closer to the North Pole. The island is named after

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...

(1800–1862), a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

who was part of

William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Passa ...

's 1827 expedition with HMS ''Hecla'' to reach the

. After passing by Sjuøyane and Rossøya, the expedition was forced to give up, after getting stuck in the ice. However, the expedition set a new record as the expedition that had reached the furthest north at the time. The island may have been sighted as early as 1618, along with the rest of Sjuøyane, by an Enkhuizen whaler. However, the island was marked on a map as early as 1663 by Hendrick Doncker. This was later followed by cartographers such as

Pieter Goos Pieter Goos (1616–1675) was a Dutch cartographer, copperplate engraver, publisher and bookseller. He was the son of Abraham Goos (1590–1643), also a cartographer and map seller. From 1666, Pieter Goos published a number of well produced ...

, Cornelis Giles and Outger Rep. The island was included in the

Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve () is located in the north-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Nordaustlandet, Kong Karls Land, Kvitøya, Sjuøyane, Storøya, Lågøya, Wilhelm Island, Wahl ...

since 1 January 1973. Accessibility by ship can be difficult due to ice conditions, but the island is more affected by the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...

than more southeasterly parts of Svalbard. The island is slightly greenish, due to the plant '' Cochleraria groenlandica'', that thrives due to the natural fertilizing from the birds' excrements. The most common bird is the

little auk The little auk (Europe) or dovekie (North America) ''Alle alle'' is a small auk, the only member of the genus ''Alle''. ''Alle'' is the Sami name of the long-tailed duck; it is onomatopoeic and imitates the call of the drake duck. Linnaeus was n ...

, though other common species include the

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

and Brünnich's guillemot. Birds arrive in April–May, and stay during the summer. The only mammal is 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 ...

, which is most commonly found during the winter, when it can use the ice to cross to the island.

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