Nordaustlandet

The North Country (Norwegian Nordaustland ), with an area of 14,443 km ², the second largest island of the state of Norway belonging Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is located northeast of the island of Spitsbergen ( the main island of the archipelago ) and is separated from it by the Hinlopen Strait. It is, with the exception of some researchers who are staying there temporarily, uninhabited.

Climate

As on the entire Svalbard archipelago, the climate of the high latitude is accordingly hocharktisch. The north coast of the island, however, is under a weak influence of the West Spitsbergen current ( the last northern tip of the Gulf Stream ) and is therefore in the summer ice-free earlier than the east and south, which are influenced by the cold Ostspitzbergenstrom. In general, however, that the temperatures are much lower annual mean North Country than in the west of the Svalbard archipelago.

Geology

The northern half of the island consists almost exclusively of basement rocks. These are, for a weakly metamorphosed sediments ( quartzite, dolomite, limestone, shale ) from the younger Proterozoic ( 600 to 700 million years old ), which were strongly deformed by younger tectonic movements, so that the layers are many places steep and fractures and folds are traversed. On the other hand, there are hochmetamorphe gneiss, and granite and other igneous rocks from the time of the Caledonian orogeny (before approximately 410-510 million years ago). In the south of the island, there are extensions of the basalt intrusions from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, which identify an age of 100 to 150 million years ago.

Landscape

The West Country is a clear contrast to most other landscapes on Svalbard, which are comparatively strongly divided by mountains, valleys and fjords. The island is generally very spacious. To the north is dominated by widely held plateau mountainous and hilly landscapes, scattered mountains are rather the exception. The heights are mostly below 400 m, often less than 300 m. The highest altitude reached the island by 770 m in the north- domes. The plateaus often fall into steep rocky slopes to the more or less flat areas at sea level or directly into the sea out.

11.5 thousand km ² of surface -East lands are covered with ice caps and glaciers, which corresponds to a share of 80 % of the total area. Here is the up to 430 meters thick and 8450 km ² large ice cap Austfonna the fourth largest domestic ice rink in the world after Antarctica and Greenland and the north island of Novaya Zemlya. His escarpment in the sea is the longest in the northern hemisphere at 190 km in length. Vestfonna presents with an area of 2450 square kilometers, the second major ice cap on Nodaustland dar.

Flora and Fauna

The tundra is very sparse. First of all flowering plants are sparsely present on wide surfaces, leave in sheltered places itself but sometimes surprisingly find lots of flowers. A total of 83 different species of vascular plants have been found on East country so far. Lichens, however, are rich in species and take a wide portions of the rock surface. Also algae form on the wet tundra surface everywhere wide, blue-black surfaces. The vegetation ranges from to feed on almost all surfaces ice-free single Svalbard reindeer. Polar bears and arctic foxes roam constantly on drift ice and tundra, some bird species such as the sea beach runner or the snow bunting, breed on the island. In addition, there are five species of spiders, as well as 34 Collembola species.

History

Because of the almost always had a very difficult ice conditions, especially the eastern areas of the island were to the 20th century, only approximately known, even today, the waters in these regions often unmeasured and therefore not very accessible. The Northwest Northeast Highlands (which the Gulf Stream still rather freed from ice), however, was already known to the whalers in general terms, though, the region has never developed into a classic fishing area. Several well-known polar expeditions as Phipps (1773 ) and Parry ( 1827) came to the North West Highlands, but cared little for the country and the island. 1861 headed the Swedish geologist Otto Torell a multi-week field trip along the north coast of North Highlands, so that then existed at least an overview of geology and topography of the areas visited. The Englishman Benjamin Leigh Smith met in 1871 and 1873 prior to the most north-eastern point of the island and also Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in 1873 traveled to the slide for the first time by parts of the inner West of Scotland. 1899-1902 established the Russian-Swedish degree measurement expeditions trigonomisches a network for parts in the northwest of the island. On August 15, 1912, Herbert Schröder- Stranzberg allowed to settle with three companions from the North Cape and Cape Platen to cross the island by dogsled. Your fate is unknown to this day. In 1928, the team of his airship crashed north of the North Lands Umberto Nobile and from what large-scale search expeditions were launched. This search significantly contributed to the geographical knowledge of the north of the island. In the spring of 1929, Karl Bengtssen and two companions crossed on sledges northern East country from west to east. Systematic aerial photography, topographic mapping of the foundation, was made in 1939 by Norway. On East country was during the Second World War, the German Navy weather station warhorse. This capitulated on 11 September 1945 as the last German unit with respect to the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Northeast Svalbard Nature Reserve

North Country is wholly established in 1973 Northeast Svalbard Nature Reserve. It is there any technical intervention ( construction of buildings, operation of mines, etc. ), any leave of waste, and prohibited any interference or introduction of animals and plants. In addition, the land must not be traveled by motorized vehicles. For entering a permit from the Sysselmann is required, it can also completely block areas for visitors.