The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, belonging to Norway, is famous for being home to the Global Seed Vault and for having recently emerged as a tourist destination where visitors can witness the northern lights, polar bears, and the midnight sun. However, while catering to tourists has become a new economic niche, the backbone of its […]
Arctic Circle
Posted inGeography
The Incredible Wrangel Island: The Place Where Mammoths Survived Until 2000 BC
Located in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, Wrangel Island is a 7,600 km² enclave, equivalent in size to Crete. It is part of Russia’s Chukotka Autonomous District and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004 due to its unique biodiversity and historical significance. The […]
Posted inModern Era
Bothie, the Only and Last Dog to Have Set Foot on Both Poles of the Earth
The 1983 Pet of the Year award in Great Britain went to a dog that entered the Guinness Book of World Records, whose popularity led to the commercialization of stuffed animals, posters, and toys featuring his image, and who became the subject of a story about the great adventure that earned him all those honors: […]
Posted inGeography
Longyearbyen, the northernmost city in the world with a permanent population, where carrying a rifle is mandatory when leaving
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. […]
Posted inGeography
By 2100, Ships Could Sail Year-Round Through the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic, Changing Geopolitics and Global Trade
A team of researchers led by Pengjun Zhao has presented a revealing report on the future of maritime trade in the Arctic, specifically along the Northern Sea Route. This study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, explores how climate change could allow navigation along this route year-round by the year 2100. Currently, Arctic […]
Posted inGeography
Gunnbjørn, a Nunatak, is the Highest Peak in the Arctic Circle, Greenland and Denmark
Until the year 1930, it was believed that the highest point in Greenland was Mount Forel, located in the Schweizerland range southeast of the island. The mountain and the range were named by the Swiss explorer Alfred de Quervain in 1912. That year, Quervain’s expedition crossed the Greenland ice cap from Godhavn in the west, […]
