Spitsbergen

Mountainous island with a deeply indented coastline, situated in the Arctic Ocean between Franz Josef Land and Greenland. It is the main island in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, 657 km/408 mi north of Norway, and now owned by that country; area 39,043 sq km/15,075 sq mi. Fishing, hunting, and coal mining are the chief economic activities. The Norwegian Polar Research Institute operates an all-year scientific station on the west coast. The highest point is Newtontoppen, which rises to 1,713 m/5,620 ft. The island was formerly called West Spitsbergen when part of the Svalbard archipeligo was named Spitsbergen.

Spitsbergen lies between 76.5° and 80° north. At this latitude there is total daylight for 122 days; for 128 days there is either full sunlight or twilight only; and for a period of 115 days the sun does not rise above the horizon. The former mining settlement of Ny-Ålesund has the most northerly post office in the world.