Nordaustlandet (Anglicised as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of 14,443 square kilometres (5,576 sq mi). It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under large ice caps, mainly Austfonna and Vestfonna, the remaining parts of the north being tundra inhabited by reindeer and walruses. The island is uninhabited and lies entirely within Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve.
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👉 Nordaustlandet in the context of Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve (Norwegian: Nordaust-Svalbard naturreservat) 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, Wahlbergøya and a small section of the north-east corner of Spitsbergen. The reserve is 55,354 square kilometres (21,372 sq mi), of which 18,663 square kilometres (7,206 sq mi) is on land and 36,691 square kilometres (14,166 sq mi) is on water—making it the largest preserved area in Norway (including national parks). It includes the largest glacier in Norway, Austfonna, as well as Vestfonna and parts of Olav V Land. The reserve has been protected since 1 July 1973 and borders in the south to Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve.
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Nordaustlandet in the context of Svalbard
Svalbard (/ˈsvɑːlbɑːr(d)/ SVAHL-bar(d), Urban East Norwegian: [ˈsvɑ̂ːɫbɑr]) — formerly Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen — is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen (37,673 km), followed in size by Nordaustlandet (14,443 km), Edgeøya (5,073 km), and Barentsøya (1,288 km). Bjørnøya or Bear Island (178 km) is the most southerly island in the territory, situated some 147 km south of Spitsbergen. Other small islands in the group include Hopen to the southeast of Edgeøya, Kongsøya and Svenskøya in the east, and Kvitøya to the northeast. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen, situated in Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen.
Whalers who sailed far north in the 17th and 18th centuries used the islands as a base; subsequently, the archipelago was abandoned. Coal mining started at the beginning of the 20th century, and several permanent communities such as Pyramiden and Barentsburg were established. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the Norwegian Svalbard Act of 1925 made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Svalbard Treaty established Svalbard as a free economic zone and restricts the military use of the archipelago. The Norwegian Store Norske and the Russian Arktikugol remain the only mining companies in place.
Nordaustlandet in the context of Hinlopen Strait
The Hinlopen Strait (Norwegian: Hinlopenstretet) is the strait between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet in Svalbard, Norway. It is 150 kilometers (93 mi) long and 10 to 60 kilometers (6.2 to 37.3 mi) wide. The strait is difficult to pass because of pack ice. It is believed to have been named after Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen.
The northern part of the strait is called Nordporten, between Storsteinhalvøya and Mosselhalvøya. The southern part, called Sørporten, widens up between Bråsvellbreen and the Bastian Islands.
Nordaustlandet in the context of Austfonna
Austfonna is an ice cap located on Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Covering an area of 7,800 km, it is Europe's third-largest glacier by area and volume, after the Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya, Russia, and Vatnajökull in Iceland. The combined area of Austfonna and the Vegafonna ice cap is 8,492 km.
Austfonna has a thickness of up to 560 metres (235 meters average thickness), and is 200 km in circumference. The ice dome reaches an elevation of 783 meters above sea level.
Nordaustlandet in the context of Vestfonna
Vestfonna is an ice cap located on the western part Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The glacier covers an area of about 2,500 km. It is the third largest ice cap in Svalbard and Norway by area, after Austfonna and Olav V Land.