• A series of islands located off the northern coast of Norway, between 76° and 80° North Latitude.
• land area is 62,049 sq km, with 3,587 km of coastline.
• the 2 highest peaks are Newtontoppen and Perriertoppen, each 1,717 meters high (5,633 feet).
• the name Svalbard means "the land with a cold edge" (coast). "Sval" is a Norwegian word for "cool", and "bard" is an old name for "edge".
• the name of the largest island, Spitsbergen, is often used to describe the entire archipelago.
• 60% of the land area is covered by ice.
• discovered by the Vikings in 1194.
• in the 1600s, Holland and England had a "whaling war" at Spitsbergen - during one battle at least 17 whaling ships were sunk.
• was used by many early polar exploration flights.
• on February 9, 1920, Norway was awarded sovereignty over Svalbard at the Paris Peace Conference. It is to remain demilitarized.
• the state flower is the Svalbardvalmue.
• the polar bear population of the Svalbard region is estimated at 2-3,000.
• the Svalbard reindeer is the smallest species of reindeers in the world. The population is about 10,000.
• the population (1999) is about 2,500 - 62% Russian and Ukrainian, 38% Norwegian.
• the economy is largely based on mining, particularly coal. Norwegian and Russian companies are both operating; foreign companies were allowed to mine by the 1920 treaty.
• American John M. Longyear was one of the first to open a profitable coal mine, opening one at Advent Bay in 1906.
• the administrative centre is Longyearbyen. The communities of Barentsburg and Pyramiden are company towns where everything is owned by Russian mining companies.

Svalbard, "The land of the cold coasts"
Comprehensive (though now somewhat outdated) information from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Adventdalen Webcam
Located at 78° 2' N, 15° 7' E., it's the furthest-north Webcam in the world. Operated by the UNIS Auroral Station.

Amundsen, Roald
This lengthy biography of the famous polar explorer by Linn Ryne includes information on his flights that began or ended at Svalbard.

Geology of Svalbard
A very well-illustrated report, the result of 15 years of study in the Hornsund, Bellsund, Isfjorden, St. Jonsfjorden, Kongsfjorden, and Lomfjorden areas.

The Governor of Svalbard
A beautifully illustrated and comprehensive guide to the islands, from a large collection of maps to to political information and service guides.

Guide to Spitsbergen
Widely acknowledged as the expert on the islands, Andreas Umbreit covers everything from history to current services, nature to mining.

Hornsund Polish Polar Station
The station is run by the Institute of Geophysics, Department of Polar and Marine Research, Polish Academy of Science (PAN), and carries out research in various branches of geophysics and the study of polar environment.

Koldewey Station
Scientists from Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute opened this station in 1991 to monitor the stratosphere over the North Pole.

Longyearbyen
2006 is the 100th anniversary of the community's founding. The site is in Norwegian only.

Natureview Spitsbergen
Arjen Drost has posted a very good information resource (with a focus on nature) with dozens of excellent photos.

Nicolaus Copernicus University Polar Station
This Polish research station (a.k.a. Torun Station), located on the Kaffiyora Plain on Spitsbergen Island, is the base for glacial studies.

Polar Fight
Seven of the ten historic polar flights detailed here began or ended in the Svalbard Archipelago. Many photos and maps are included.

Spitsbergen, 1943
Two photos from the 1943 World Book Encyclopedia.

Spitsbergen Pictured
Eighteen excellent photos taken during a hike-and-bike tour in September 2002.

Spitsbergen Polar Covers, 1967-80s
Wes Thorn has posted several of his envelopes from expeditions and ships.

Spitsbergen/Svalbard Place Names
Norwegian and English names of about 40 places commonly mentioned in historic accounts.

Spitsbergen Travel
A beautifully-illustrated catalog of their year-round tours, in English and Norwegian.

Sporting in Spitzbergen, 1861
This article from 'Harpers New Monthly Magazine' provides a sometimes disturbing look back at attitudes 140 years ago, and at conditions in northern Norway.

Store Norske
Norway’s sole coal producer and the most northerly operator in the world, located in Svea, roughly 60 km from Longyearbyen.

Svalbard Museum
As of March 2006, just a single page with contact information and a photo has been posted.

The Svalbard Pages
Everything from weather to a service directory and residents' email addresses.

Svalbard Snoscooterutleie
Tours of Svalbard by snowmobile, from 3 hours to several days.

Svalbard Wildlife Service
A wide variety of tours, from nature to mine tours, with kayaks, snowmobiles, skis and on foot.

University Courses on Svalbard
The objective of UNIS is to offer university-level courses and to perform research relevant to Svalbard's location.

Weather in Adventdalen
An extremely detailed 24-hour report, with an archives of past records day-by-day.

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