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Location:
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Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
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Geographic coordinates:
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78 00 N, 20 00 E
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Map references:
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Arctic Region
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Area:
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total: 62,049 sq km
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
water: 0 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than West Virginia
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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3,587 km
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 NM
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Climate:
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arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year
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Terrain:
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wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
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Natural resources:
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coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish
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Land use:
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arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km
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Natural hazards:
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ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic
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Environment - current issues:
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NA
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Geography - note:
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northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area
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