At Langeøya, the name (in Norwegian/German) might well be descriptive, indicating „Long Island“: it is no more than 50-60 metres wide in several places, but about six kilometres long. But the name does not describe the shape (then, in correct Norwegian, it should be Langøya, not Langeøya), the island is rather named after a German 19th century geographer, just as with the neighbouring islands. Together, they form the small archipelago of the Bastianøyane, which is situated in the southern Hinlopen Strait.
Langeøya and Kiepertøya, a bit further to the southeast, are the two largest islands of the Bastianøyane. Beyond these two, only Pescheløya is worth mentioning; the other islands are hardly more than skerries and rocks.
Regarding Langeøya (and Kiepertøya, which is similar), it is the shape that it really striking: it is made up of a series of five rocky hills which are between 37 and 54 metres high and connected by narrow, low-lying land bridges. Geologically speaking, Langeøya consists of dolerite, a basalt-like rock. The low-lying land bridges have some rocky beaches with some driftwood (and the inevitable marine plastic litter).
Vegetation is mostly restricted to lichens. There is no „stationary“ wildlife other than some breeding birds such as arctic terns and – at a little pond – red-throated divers. But it is not unusual to see one or several walrus swimming around in this neighbourhood, and there is certainly a polar bear roaming between the rocky hills somewhere on these islands. There was an accident with a polar bear with lethal outcome on neighbouring Kiepertøya – so be careful if you ever get here.
my new book is in print and it can now be ordered 🙂 it is a photo book with the title “Norwegens arktischer Norden (3): Die Bäreninsel und Jan Mayen”, with German text Click here for further details!
BOOKS, CALENDAR, POSTCARDS AND MORE
This and other publishing products of the Spitsbergen publishing house in the Spitsbergen-Shop.
Norwegens arktischer Norden (1): Spitzbergen
Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German. [shop url="https://shop.spitzbergen.de/en/polar-books/70-norwegens-arktischer-norden-1-aerial-arctic-9783937903262.html"] ← Back
Lofoten, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen from the air - Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German, but there is very little text, so I am sure that you will enjoy it regardless which languages you read (or not).
The companion book for the Svalbardhytter poster. The poster visualises the diversity of Spitsbergen‘s huts and their stories in a range of Arctic landscapes. The book tells the stories of the huts in three languages.
Comprehensive guidebook about Spitsbergen. Background (wildlife, plants, geology, history etc.), practical information including travelling seasons, how to travel, description of settlements, routes and regions.
Join an exciting journey with dog, skis and tent through the wintery wastes of East Greenland! We were five guys and a dog when we started in Ittoqqortoormiit, the northernmost one of two settlements on Greenland’s east coast.
12 postcards which come in a beautifully designed tray. Beautiful images from South Georgia across Antarctica from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea and up to Macquarie Island and Campbell Island.
Huts are places of longing, dreams and adventure in Spitsbergen’s beautiful landscape. Even if the modern visitor’s eye may mostly be directed towards nature, most will have an open ear every now and then for exciting survival stories about explorers and expeditions, adventurers and trappers.
These huts are silent witnesses and and every one of them tells a little part of the whole story. The little book “Svalbardhytter” and the poster that is part of the same project make these fascinating places accessible for everyone.
From remote ruins, just traces in a few cases, to “famous” trapper huts such as Fredheim in Tempelfjord and Bjørneborg on Halvmåneøya, the war weather station Haudegen, the former scientific base Würzburger Hütte on Barentsøya and Hammerfesthuset, Svalbard’s oldest building.