Sørkapp Land: Grunnvågen & Kikutodden

Sørkapp Land

Grunnvågen and Kikutodden are located in Sørkapp Land close to the southernmost point of the main island Spitsbergen. As the name Grunnvågen (“Shallow bay”) suggests, the coastal waters are shallow far out into the sea, and they are poorly charted. Even smaller boats like SV Antigua have to keep a distance of a nautical mile or so, and it is a long Zodiac ride to the shore. A large, open bay like Grunnvågen does not provide any shelter at all, so it not a good idea to attempt a landing here unless the weather conditions are really perfect.

Grunnvågen

Those few visitors who may nevertheless get here will find a wide-open coastal plain with small creeks and wetland areas with green moss patches in an otherwise rather barren tundra area. Pieces of driftwood and the occasional whalebone are lying on the beach.

Kikutodden

On the eastern end of the bay Grunnvågen, there is a small, rocky peninsula called Kikutodden (“View point”). Kikutodden is composed of steeply dipping layers of hard sediment. These are continued under water, forming a large number of rocky reefs in this area.

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