Nordvest-Spitsbergen

Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park was established by royal decree on 1 June 1973 and takes in the north-western sector of the island of Spitsbergen — the lands of Albert I and Haakon VII — along with nearby islands such as Danskøya and Moffen. It is Norway's second largest national park by area.

Its most singular geological features are the hot springs of Bockfjorden and the remains of Quaternary volcanism, an unexpected phenomenon at such a high latitude: the hot waters that rise there are among the most northerly on the planet and support plant communities that could not otherwise survive in this setting. The rest of the landscape is one of tidewater glaciers calving into the fjords, sharp peaks and coastal islands. The influence of the West Spitsbergen Current softens conditions and makes these waters an unusually productive marine environment.

The historical heritage is exceptional. European whaling began on these coasts in the seventeenth century, and the remains of whaling stations and graves from that period survive. At Virgohamna, on Danskøya, are the traces of several Arctic expeditions, among them the starting point of the Swedish engineer Salomon August Andrée's failed attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon in 1897. The park hosts seabird colonies that have earned it status as an Important Bird Area, along with Svalbard reindeer, Arctic fox and concentrations of walrus and polar bear.