Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is located in the south-eastern part of 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 in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 covers all of Edgeøya

Edgeøya

Edgeøya, occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is an uninhabited Norwegian island in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; it is the third largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the South East Svalbard Nature Reserve, home to polar bears and reindeer. Its eastern...

 and Barentsøya

Barentsøya

Barents Island is one of the smaller islands in the Svalbard archipelago, lying between Edge Island and Spitsbergen. Barents Island has no permanent human inhabitants. Named for the Dutch explorer Willem Barents , it is a part of Norway.An Arctic island, around 43 per cent its area of is glaciated...

 in addition to a number of smaller islands, including Tusenøyane

Tusenøyane

Tusenøyane is a group of small islands south of Edgeøya. They form part of the Svalbard archipelago. The group consists of over forty islands and islets, including Brotskjer, Kulstadholmane, Utsira, Tufsen, Kong Ludvigøyane, Bölscheøya, Hornøya, Tiholmane, Meinickeøyane, Sletteøya, Schareholmane,...

, Ryke Yseøyane

Ryke Yseøyane

Ryke Yseøyane is a group of several small islands off the east coast of Edgeøya. The islands are named after the Dutch whaler Ryke Yse of Vlieland, who discovered them about 1640-45. The group was first marked by Hendrick Doncker, of Amsterdam, in 1663....

 and Halvmåneøya

Halvmåneøya

Halvmåneøya is a small, uninhabited island off the southeastern coast of Edgeøya, part of the Svalbard archipelago. Halvmåneøya, as part of Edgeøya, has been a nature preserve since 1973, and visitation is strictly regulated....

. The reserve is 21825 square kilometres (8,426.7 sq mi), of which 6400 square kilometres (2,471.1 sq mi) is on land and 15426 square kilometres (5,956 sq mi) is on water—making it the second-largest preserved area in Norway (including national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

s). The reserve has been protected since 1 July 1973 and borders in the south to 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...

.
The reserve is dominated by strandlines and patterned ground, although large sections are glaciated

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

. On Edgeøya, many areas have raised beach deposits, giving distinct strandline, and showing whale bones formerly below sea level. The most popular places are Kapp Lee, Diskobukta and Halvmåneøya

Halvmåneøya

Halvmåneøya is a small, uninhabited island off the southeastern coast of Edgeøya, part of the Svalbard archipelago. Halvmåneøya, as part of Edgeøya, has been a nature preserve since 1973, and visitation is strictly regulated....

 for tourists. There is an all-year visitation ban on Zieglerøya, Delitschøya, Spekkholmen, Haudegen and large parts of Halvmåneøya

Halvmåneøya

Halvmåneøya is a small, uninhabited island off the southeastern coast of Edgeøya, part of the Svalbard archipelago. Halvmåneøya, as part of Edgeøya, has been a nature preserve since 1973, and visitation is strictly regulated....

.

Traditionally, the area has been used for trapping polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

 and walrus

Walrus

The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...

; remains of trapper buildings remain at Ekrollhamna. The reserve contains the most important resting places for walrus in the archipelago. The area is also features a lot of reindeer, and it is used as a nesting places for birds. On Tusenøyaene is a core area featuring red-throated diver

Red-throated Diver

The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...

s, brent goose

Brent Goose

The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...

, eider ducks and arctic tern

Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...

s. The vegetation is moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

 tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

, formed by centuries of reindeer excrements.