Bear Island is part of the small land area in the Barents Sea. It also borders the Norwegian Sea. It is the southern part of the Svalbard archipelago. It has an area of 180 square meters. km Geographically owned by Norway.
Hydronym
The island received its name not by chance. Until 1596, Europeans did not go deep into the Arctic, so they did not see polar bears. The Dutch expedition, approaching the shores of a previously unknown land area in the Barents Sea, saw on the shore a beautiful majestic beast who was trying to climb onto a ship. It was in honor of this animal that the island got its name - Bear.
When and who discovered Bear Island?
The island's discoverers are the Dutch V. Barents and Jacob van Hemskerk. The official opening date for this piece of land is June 10, 1596. Until that moment, this territory was not populated and was practically not mentioned in the ancient records of sailors. After the discovery, the Dutch established a parking area here and for many years developed whaling.
At the end of the 19th century, Norway based on official documents included the Svalbard archipelago. Bear Island (Barents Sea), as part of it, also began to belong to the Kingdom.
Since 2002, this territory has been declared a conservation area; any hunting activities are prohibited here and are considered poaching.
About the island (briefly)
According to scientists, the island was formed 400 million years ago. It is located on the border of two seas: from the west, the coast is washed by the Norwegian, and from the east by the Barents Sea. The coastline is rugged, there are many shallow bays. In the southern and southeastern parts of the island, the relief rises, forming low plateaus. The highest point is Mount Urd (535 m). Bear Island on the northern outskirts is represented by a lowland plain, along which a large number of small rivers flow. There are many lakes and streams. All of them are of glacial origin. The predominant natural zones are forest-tundra and tundra.
Climate
Bear Island belongs to the Arctic climate zone. Weather conditions here are unfavorable for permanent residence. The island has high relative humidity, a large amount of annual precipitation (up to 2000 mm) that falls on the ground in the form of rain, drizzle and fog. In winter, precipitation practically stops, and therefore there is no permanent snow cover here. The average January temperatures are -18 … -15 ° C, July - +10 ° C.
Flora and fauna
The fauna and flora of the island are characteristic of the tundra. The most common types of vegetation are mosses, lichens, and shrubs. Of the animals you can meet Arctic fox, sea hare, seal. But polar bears are not so common. There are a small number of them. There are many commercial fish in coastal waters, rivers and lakes.
