Jan Mayen: attractions and photos

Not all travelers like warm exoticcountries. Many prefer frosty-snow extreme with a severe arctic character. If this statement can be attributed to you, then a trip to the island of Jan Mayen will be an interesting option. This Norwegian island can not be called an easily accessible place, but here everything is permeated with a special charm. Surrounding landscapes, endemic plants, noisy bird markets are a small part of what a tourist will see in this amazing place.

Geographical information

The Russian name Jan Mayen correspondsthe Norwegian name Jan Mayen. This is an island in Northern Europe, located on the border of the Greenland and Norwegian seas. It is located 600 km north of Iceland and 500 km east of Greenland. Norway is located 1000 km east of the island. But Jan Mayen belongs to this state.

The length of the coastline of the island is more than 124 km. The length of the island is 55 km. The highest point is the mountain of Haakon VII (King of Norway from 1905 to 1957). The height is little more than 2277 m. The peak is an active volcano, the last eruption of which occurred in 1970. The second name of the volcano is Bierenberg. It is rightly considered the northernmost active volcano of the Earth. Thanks to volcanic activity, the area of ​​the island is gradually increasing. The last eruption added 4 km², which is not so little. The total area of ​​the island is 373 km ².

History

The discoverer of the island is considered to be a monk,from Ireland. His name is Bradan. The monk fell on an unnamed island in the VI century, but he did not invent names for it. The fact is that the discoverer was very frightened when he saw smoke and a flame. He did not know what a volcano was, and decided that it was a road to hell. For a long time the island was not even mapped. But in 1614, to the shore of the nameless island, a whaling ship was set, whose captain was Jan Mayen. An experienced sailor managed to understand that in this place it is possible to arrange a transit point for whalers and hunters. He plotted the location of the island and described it. In honor of the visionary sailor and was given the name of Jan Mayen.

After the appearance of the coordinates of the island, claims of other seafarers, including Henry Hudson, were made, but they were considered inconclusive.

Determination of nationality and leadership

Norway was included in the island in 1930. In 1995, Jan Mayen came under the administrative jurisdiction of the Norwegian province of Nordland. The governor of this province officially administers all administrative matters. On the territory of the island all the powers of administrative and civil administration are delegated to the head of the military station LORAN-C.

The Spitsbergen Archipelago and Jan Mayen (island) ininternational classification have a common name. It sounds so Svalbard og Jan Mayen. Spitsbergen is thus endowed with a special status, which is regulated by a special treatise, and Jan Mayen is simply part of one of the provinces of Norway. It turns out that these lands do not have administrative connections, but the UN Statistics Division also united them under the same name: Spitsbergen, the Norwegian name Svalbard, and Jan Mayen.

In the global network, the island is given a separate domain - Sj. But the Norwegian government has decided that this domain remains a backup, at the moment they do not use it.

Topography of the island

Jan Mayen is an island of volcanic origin. Part of its area, about 117 km ², is covered with glaciers. The island is divided by isthmus into the northern and southern parts. The width of the isthmus is 2.5 km. The isthmus has two large ponds. Their name: South lagoon and North lagoon. The water in the reservoirs is mixed salty-fresh, as they are filled from two sources:

• sea ​​water falling into water during frequent storms;
• fresh water falling from the slopes during the melting of glaciers and snow.

The peculiarity of the lagoons is that the salt water is at the bottom, and the fresh water is at the surface. Due to this, the top layer is suitable for drinking.

There is a third small lake in the southern rocksisland. Its name is Ullerenglaguna. Some of the glaciers of Jan Mayen descend into the sea. Two of them are located on the east coast, and three more reach the north-west coast.

Scientists have determined that the age of the island exceeds 700 thousand years. It has a mountainous terrain, the highest point, as already noted, is the Beringen volcano.

Population

There is no indigenous population on the island of Jan Mayen. All those who live on its territory are employees of the navigation station LORAN-C, a radio station, a meteorological station and a coastal service. The number of residents is 18-20 people. In summer, the number of residents doubles.

The only settlement of the island is Olonkinbuen. Can it be considered that it is the capital of Jan Mayen? The issue is open, because officially the territory is included in the province (county) Nurlan.

Climate

The island is located in the polar sea climate. There are frequent storms and steady fogs. The coldest month is February. At this time, the average temperature indicator drops to -6.1 ° C. The warmest month is August. At this time, the air warms up to +5 ° C on average. The lowest value recorded on the island is -20 ° C, the highest temperature is + 18 ° C.

Jan Mayen, whose weather is characterized by small mid-temperature fluctuations throughout the year, is formed under the influence of one of the branches of the warm Gulf Stream.

Sights of the island

Tourists get to the island is very difficult. To do this, you need a special permission. Issue such permits for a day, and sometimes for several hours. In the most special case, it can be several days. Here you can see unique glaciers and ice waterfalls. That's very beautiful!

The island is inhabited by numerous bird colonies. Most of the murres and ghar, but there are 100 more species. 18 species of birds are constantly building nests on the island. In the surrounding waters there are a lot of fish. This attracts dolphins and seals. Here feed on whales and beluga whales.

In 2010, Norway declared the territory of the islandnature reserve. Here they try to preserve a unique nature, so the mass admission of tourists is impossible. But if you were lucky enough to get permission, then the impressions will suffice for a long time. That there is only a fog that envelops Jan Mayen with a dense cocoon!

It's curious

In 1940, Germany sent to the island a scientificexpedition. Adolf Hitler was sure that in this place you can find evidence of the shape of the Earth, because he believed that the planet has the shape of a bulb, not a ball. The British learned about the preparation of the expedition and landed a landing party, which took prisoners of the study.

In 1961, near the island suffered an accidentsubmarine K-19. The reactor went out of action, and part of the crew died as a result of irradiation. The emergency vessel was able to tow to the base. About these sad events the film "K-19: Leaving widows" was made.

Writer Tom Clans released the novel "The Hunt for" Red October ", in which he mentions the station LORAN-C.

Jan Mayen is the target of the heroine of the famous computer game Lara Croft, who is looking for an artifact - the Thor's hammer.

You can get to the island only by a military ship or a military aircraft. The airport has a ground runway, and often does not work because of thick fogs.