In the Svalbard archipelago, at 78 degrees north latitude, lies Longyearbyen, the northernmost city in the world with a permanent population. This Norwegian settlement, founded in 1906 by American businessman John Munroe Longyear as a mining town, has evolved over more than a century to become a fascinating microcosm of human life in the Arctic. […]
Archipelagos
Posted inGeography, Middle Ages
The Stunning Fortress of the Berlengas Archipelago in Portugal
Located on the west coast of Portugal, almost at the westernmost tip of Europe, lies the Berlengas Archipelago, a group of islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, about 10 kilometers from the town of Peniche. The archipelago consists of three groups of granite islands and islets, the main ones being Berlenga Grande (the only […]
Posted inGeography
Kerguelen, the Remote French Archipelago with More than 300 Islands Between Africa and Antarctica where a Hundred People Live
To an archipelago being known as the “Islands of Desolation” says quite a bit. If we also add that it’s located in the subantarctic region, meaning north of Antarctica and between 46 and 60 degrees latitude, the nickname is understandable. We’re referring to Kerguelen (which is its current name as “Desolation” fell out of use), […]
