Svalbard:
Geography

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Background	Definition 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.

Location	Definition Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
Geographic coordinates	Definition 78 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references	Definition Arctic Region
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 61,020 sq km land: 61,020 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
Area - comparative	Definition slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries	Definition 0 km
Coastline	Definition 3,587 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 4 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
Climate	Definition 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	Definition 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	Definition lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
Natural resources	Definition coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition NA
Natural hazards	Definition ice floes often block 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	Definition NA
Geography - note	Definition northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government

Svalbard: Geography

Svalbard:
Geography