Special Sub-Topic: Svalbard Click Here To Play: Svalbard

To kick things off, what is the capital of Svalbard?

Longyearbyen. Longyearbyen is also Svalbard's largest centre, with a population of 1,100 people.

What is the approximate population of Svalbard?

2,500. This population is made up of around 1450 Norwegians, 1150 Russians/Ukranians and 10 Polish.

What is the main religion of the inhabitants of Svalbard?

Protestant. The Svalbardians follow the Norwegian church.

The war in Svalbard in the 1600's was between which two countries?

Holland and England. The fight was about the right to hunt whales along the Svalbard coastline. They destroyed eachothers land settlements and in one battle at least 17 whaling ships were sunk. The eventual agreement was to divide the coastline into hunting areas for both countries.

In what year was Svalbard first discovered?

1596. Discovered by Jacob Heemskerck on a Dutch whaling voyage.

What happened in 1920?

The Svalbard Treaty was written.. The Svalbard Treaty was signed at the Paris Peace Conference on 9th February, 1920 and ensures that Svalbard shall remain demilitarised, Norway is responsible for administration issues and the citizens of the 40 countries that have signed receive equal rights in Svalbard.

The Svalbard reindeer the largest species of reindeer in the world. True or false?

f. It is the SMALLEST species of reindeer in the world. A buck may grow to a length of about 160 centimetres and acquire a weight of 90 kilos in the summer and 60 kilos in the winter. It has thicker fur and shorter legs than other species of reindeer.

Approximately how far is Svalbard from the North Pole?

1,000 km. It is very, very cold!

"Svalbard" means "Land with the cold edge"?

t. "Sval" is a Norwegian name for "cool", and "bard" is an old name for "edge".

What is an average January temperature in Svalbard?

-15 c. At any time of the year, the average temperature doesn't peak above 10 degrees Celsius