Fairhaven (Svalbard)
Fairhaven is an area of Norway. Generally speaking, it is the area between Amsterdamøya and Danskøya and the mainland, while specifically it refers to the sound between Danskøya and the mainland (Albert I Land), in particular the strait between Moseøya and Danskøya. The modern name for this area is Smeerenburgfjorden (a modern blunder, as Smeerenburg was only a settlement).
The fjord is 20 km long and 4 km wide.
History
Willem Barentsz was the first to explore the area around Fairhaven in 1596. The first indisputable visit by the English was made by Jonas Poole in the Amity in 1610. Thomas Marmaduke is known to have explored the area north of Fairhaven in 1612, and may have explored Fairhaven itself as well. Again, the following season (1613), Marmaduke explored as far north as Fairhaven. The first known whaling here occurred in 1614, with the Dutch resorting to Amsterdamøya and the English to the south. Here they both establish temporary whaling stations, the former most likely on the southeastern spit of Amsterdamøya, and the latter probably on the southeastern corner of Danskøya. In 1615, they again made their way to their respective anchorages in Fairhaven. In 1619 and 1620 there were also at least two Danish ships sharing the southern area with the English. The English continued to send ships to Fairhaven until 1624 or 1625, when the Dutch took over the area.
Svalbard
Svalbard (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈsʋɑ(ː)lbɑːɾ] ; formerly known by its Dutch name Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya.
Administratively, the archipelago is not part of any Norwegian county, but forms an unincorporated area administered by a governor appointed by the Norwegian government. Since 2002, Svalbard's main settlement, Longyearbyen, has had an elected local government, somewhat similar to mainland municipalities. Other settlements include the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, the research station of Ny-Ålesund, and the mining outpost of Sveagruva. Svalbard is the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population. Other settlements are farther north, but are populated only by rotating groups of researchers; e.g. Alert, Nunavut—the northernmost year-round community.
Svalbard (disambiguation)
Svalbard may refer to:
