Prins Karls Forland
The Prince Karl Forland (Norwegian: Prins Karls Forland ) is a strikingly elongated island on the west coast of belonging to Norway Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic. The island is 86 km long, but only 5 to 11 km wide and thus has an area of 640 km ². Prince Charles Foreland is uninhabited and is still rarely visited. This is because the waters are partially very flat and therefore difficult to drive with ships around the island. In addition, landings be very difficult due to the high surf in part.
Climate
As on the entire Svalbard archipelago, the climate of the high latitude is accordingly hocharktisch. The Prince Charles Foreland, however, is relatively strong from the warm West Spitsbergen Current influences (the last northern extension of the Gulf Stream ), so at least the ocean facing west coast usually remains ice-free in summer and even winter. The Forlandsund ( the strait between Prince Charles Foreland and the island of Spitsbergen ), however, is relatively protected from ocean currents and freezes in the winter mostly. In general, on Prince Charles Foreland higher temperatures and higher precipitation prevail than in most other regions of Svalbard.
Geology
Prince Charles Foreland and Forlandsund form a geologically complex mosaic. Mostly there is the island of metamorphic basement rocks (schist, phyllite, carbonates, etc. ) that comes here as an elongated tectonic Horst to the surface.
Landscape
A saddle-shaped mountain in the south is separated by a vast plain from the mountainous north, the fast gets the impression from a distance that it is two islands. The wild - alpine mountain range in the northern reaches multiple altitudes above 1000 m, where the Monacofjellet with 1084 m is the highest mountain. Prince Charles Foreland is heavily glaciated in the Northeast. Usually located between the mountains and the coast, a piece of flat land. Protected bays there is not.
Flora and Fauna
The flora is very sparse in wide open spaces, only near bird cliffs the tundra is vigorously green. On the steep hangings there are large seabird colonies. There are also on Prince Charles Foreland, the world's northernmost seal colony and the only quiet places for walruses in the west of Svalbard.
History
Prince Charles Forland was one of the first regions of Svalbard, the sighted its discoverer Willem Barents in 1596. Also the whalers, Pomors and Trapper have left their unique marks there. Explored in the years 1906, 1907 and 1909 and mapped the Scottish polar explorer William Speirs Bruce the island and named their highest elevation ( 1084 m) after its sponsor, the Prince of Monaco. The mountain still bears the name Monacofjellet. The island is named after Charles I. (England) ( 1600-1649 ), Prince of Wales, later King of England.
Forlandet National Park
Prince Charles Foreland is a national park. There are there two bird sanctuaries, which may not be visited from May 15 to August 15. On the island of any technical intervention, any leave of waste, any disruption or introduction of animals is prohibited. The same applies to plants. In addition, the island must not be driven with motorized vehicles.