Kvitøya
Encyclopedia
Kvitøya is an island
in the Svalbard
archipelago
in the Arctic Ocean
, with an area of 682 square kilometres (263.3 sq mi). It is located at 80°09′05"N 32°35′37"E, making it the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The closest Russia
n Arctic possession, Victoria Island
, lies only 62 kilometres (38.5 mi) to the east of Kvitøya.
The island is almost completely covered by an ice cap (Kvitøyjøkulen, with an area of 705 square kilometres (272.2 sq mi)) with the classical, hourglass-shaped dome, which has given it its name. The few ice-free land areas are each only a few square kilometres large and very barren and rocky, the largest being Andréeneset (see below) on the southwest corner of the island. Kvitøya is a part of the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
.
Kvitøya was discovered by the Dutchman Cornelis Giles in 1707, and it was seen under the name 'Giles Land' on maps in different shapes, sizes and positions throughout the centuries. The present name was given by whaler Johan Kjeldsen of Tromsø
in 1876.
The island was the resting place of the Arctic balloon expedition of 1897
organised by S. A. Andrée
. The expedition had attempted to overfly the North Pole in a hydrogen
balloon
, but was forced down on the pack ice about 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) north of Kvitøya on July 14, less than three days after their launch. They reached the island on foot by October 6 and settled on the only ice free part on the island, on what is now called Andréeneset. The fate of the expedition for many years was one of the great mysteries of the Arctic, until its remains were discovered by the Bratvaag
in 1930, over thirty years later, and journals and film were recovered at the site. It turned out that the three members of the expedition died within a few weeks after reaching the island.
A monument commemorating the three men, S. A. Andrée
, N. Strindberg
and K. Frænkel
is erected on the island. Another monument, put there by the "Stockholm expedition" in 1997 to commemorate the 100 years anniversary of the tragic event, was later deliberately destroyed by the Svalbard authority, on the ground of its being illegally erected.
form of Norwegian is used in the name - the Bokmål
form would have been *Hvitøya.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, with an area of 682 square kilometres (263.3 sq mi). It is located at 80°09′05"N 32°35′37"E, making it the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The closest Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Arctic possession, Victoria Island
Victoria Island (Russian Arctic)
Victoria Island is a small Arctic island situated at 80°9'N 36°46'E, halfway between the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land. This westernmost of all Russian Arctic islands is about 14 km² and almost completely covered with ice...
, lies only 62 kilometres (38.5 mi) to the east of Kvitøya.
The island is almost completely covered by an ice cap (Kvitøyjøkulen, with an area of 705 square kilometres (272.2 sq mi)) with the classical, hourglass-shaped dome, which has given it its name. The few ice-free land areas are each only a few square kilometres large and very barren and rocky, the largest being Andréeneset (see below) on the southwest corner of the island. Kvitøya is a part of the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
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, Wilhelmøya, Wahlbergøya and a small section of the north-east corner of Spitsbergen...
.
Kvitøya was discovered by the Dutchman Cornelis Giles in 1707, and it was seen under the name 'Giles Land' on maps in different shapes, sizes and positions throughout the centuries. The present name was given by whaler Johan Kjeldsen of Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
in 1876.
The island was the resting place of the Arctic balloon expedition of 1897
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. S. A. Andrée , the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass,...
organised by S. A. Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
. The expedition had attempted to overfly the North Pole in a hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
, but was forced down on the pack ice about 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) north of Kvitøya on July 14, less than three days after their launch. They reached the island on foot by October 6 and settled on the only ice free part on the island, on what is now called Andréeneset. The fate of the expedition for many years was one of the great mysteries of the Arctic, until its remains were discovered by the Bratvaag
Bratvaag Expedition
The Bratvaag Expedition was a Norwegian expedition in 1930 led by Dr. Gunnar Horn, whose official tasks were hunting seals and to study glaciers and seas in the Svalbard Arctic region. The name of the expedition was taken from its ship, M/S Bratvaag of Ålesund, in which captain Peder Eliassen had...
in 1930, over thirty years later, and journals and film were recovered at the site. It turned out that the three members of the expedition died within a few weeks after reaching the island.
A monument commemorating the three men, S. A. Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
, N. Strindberg
Nils Strindberg
Nils Strindberg was a Swedish photographer who was one of the three members of S. A. Andrée's ill-fated Arctic balloon expedition of 1897. Before perishing on Kvitøya with Andrée and Knut Frænkel, Strindberg recorded on film their long doomed struggle on foot to reach populated areas...
and K. Frænkel
Knut Frænkel
Knut Hjalmar Ferdinand Frænkel was a Swedish engineer and arctic explorer who perished in the Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 of S. A...
is erected on the island. Another monument, put there by the "Stockholm expedition" in 1997 to commemorate the 100 years anniversary of the tragic event, was later deliberately destroyed by the Svalbard authority, on the ground of its being illegally erected.
The name
The original spelling of the name from 1876 was Hvidøen (Danish-Norwegian). It was later (in 1927) changed to Kvitøya. Like other names in the Norwegian Arctic and Antarctic islands and areas the NynorskNynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
form of Norwegian is used in the name - the Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
form would have been *Hvitøya.
See also
- List of islands in the Arctic Ocean
- List of islands of Norway