Kvitøya
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Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Arctic Ocean |
Coordinates | 80°09′05″N 32°35′37″E / 80.15139°N 32.59361°E |
Archipelago | Svalbard |
Area | 682 km2 (263 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 410 m (1350 ft) |
Administration | |
Norway | |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
Kvitøya (English: "White Island") is an island in the
The island is almost completely covered by Kvitøyjøkulen, an ice cap with an area of 705 square kilometres (272 sq mi) with a 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 on the southwest corner of the island. Kvitøya is a part of the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve.
Etymology
The present name was given by whaler
History
Kvitøya was discovered by the Dutchman Cornelis Giles in 1707, and it was seen under the name 'Giles Land' or 'Gillis Land'[1] on maps in different shapes, sizes and positions throughout the centuries.[2][3]
Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition
The island was the resting place of the
The fate of the expedition for many years was one of the great mysteries of the Arctic, until its remains were discovered by the ship Bratvaag in 1930, over thirty years later, and diaries, logs of scientific observations and photographs—glass negative plates, which had been deep frozen and could be developed—were recovered at the site. Modern researchers hold that the three members of the expedition died within two weeks of reaching the island.
A monument commemorating the three men, S. A. Andrée, Nils Strindberg and Knut 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 it being illegally erected.
Climate
Climate data for Kvitøya | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −11 (12) |
−11 (12) |
−13 (9) |
−11 (12) |
−4 (25) |
0 (32) |
1 (34) |
1 (34) |
1 (34) |
−2 (28) |
−6 (21) |
−8 (18) |
−5 (23) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −13 (9) |
−13 (9) |
−15 (5) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
1 (34) |
0.5 (32.9) |
0 (32) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
−6.7 (20.0) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −15 (5) |
−15 (5) |
−17 (1) |
−16 (3) |
−7 (19) |
−1 (30) |
1 (34) |
0 (32) |
−1 (30) |
−3 (27) |
−9 (16) |
−12 (10) |
−8 (18) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 14 (0.6) |
12 (0.5) |
16 (0.6) |
12 (0.5) |
11 (0.4) |
14 (0.6) |
16 (0.6) |
16 (0.6) |
16 (0.6) |
26 (1.0) |
25 (1.0) |
26 (1.0) |
204 (8) |
Source: Besttimetovisit.co.uk[4] |