Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
39,044km²
Area
2,795km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,713m
Highest point
Newtontoppen
2,642
People
3°C
Warmest sea
August
622km
To the mainland
When to go to Spitsbergen
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (3 °C) and coolest in April (0 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway
Spitsbergen is an island in Norway. It belongs to Svalbard. It covers 39,044 km², with 2,795 km of coastline. Its highest point, Newtontoppen, rises to 1,713 m. About 2,642 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 622 km away.
Getting there
- Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at HFT airport (Hammerfest)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLongyearbyen - Pyramiden
- 622 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Spitsbergen.
- 19viewpointsSarkofagen, Nordenskiöldfjellet, Signehamna and 16 more
- 2lighthousesthe infrastructure of the airport Longyearbyen
- 718named peaksNewtontoppen, Hornsundtind, Møysalen and 715 more
- 1volcanoesSverrefjellet
- 10waterfallsHyperittfossen, Frozen waterfall, Sjursethfossen and 7 more
- 6ruins and archaeological sitesLuftskiphangaren and 5 more
- 7hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 8restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Spitsbergen in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Spitsbergen, each with its own numbers.
46beaches and covesCoastya
5lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
3.7km²
Femmilsjøen
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
4.8°C
Thiisbukta
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
46 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Rålstranda4.1°C
- Bogstranda4.1°C
- Fridtjovhamnacove4.0°C
- Hamburgbuktacove3.9°C
- Blomstrandhamnacove4.8°C
- Enjalbalstranda4.8°C
- Rudibuktacove4.1°C
- Molovikacove4.3°C
38 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
5 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Femmilsjøen3.7km²
- Pervatnet0.86km²
- Bungevatnet0.73km²
- Lovénvatnet0.53km²
- Staupvatnet0.10km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
200 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Longyearbyen2,368 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -13 | -13 | -15 | -11 | -5 | -1 | 2 | 2 | -2 | -7 | -10 | -12 |
| Night low (°C) | -17 | -18 | -20 | -16 | -9 | -3 | 1 | -1 | -5 | -10 | -14 | -16 |
| Sea (°C) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Rain (mm) | 61 | 55 | 52 | 41 | 44 | 40 | 52 | 60 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 70 |
| Wet days | 18 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 |
| Sun h/day | — | 1.9 | 5.3 | 10.5 | 12.7 | 13.1 | 11.2 | 7.7 | 4.8 | 1.8 | — | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −1.8 | −1.8 | −1.8 | −1.6 | −1.2 | −0.8 | +0.3 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.1 | −0.4 |
| 2021 | −0.6 | −0.9 | −1.0 | −1.0 | −1.0 | −1.1 | −0.8 | +1.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.6 |
| 2022 | −1.0 | −1.3 | −1.2 | −0.9 | −1.0 | −0.2 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 |
| 2023 | −0.4 | −0.5 | −1.0 | −1.3 | −1.1 | −0.4 | +2.3 | +2.2 | +1.8 | +0.9 | −0.3 | −0.8 |
| 2024 | −1.3 | −1.5 | −1.6 | −1.4 | −1.1 | −0.5 | +1.5 | +2.4 | +2.1 | +1.5 | +0.8 | −0.1 |
| 2025 | −0.9 | −0.8 | −0.5 | −0.6 | −0.2 | +1.9 | +2.6 | +2.3 | +2.1 | +2.4 | +1.7 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Prins Karls Forland
Norway610 km²1,084 m111 km away
WilhelmøyaNorway118 km²558 m101 km away
BarentsøyaNorway1,276 km²405 m125 km away
NordaustlandetNorway14,467 km²764 m176 km away
EdgeøyaNorway5,073 km²590 m190 km away
SvenskøyaNorway138 km²280 m231 km away
Kong Karls LandNorway361 km²316 m272 km away
KongsøyaNorway200 km²320 m271 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q21162) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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