Nordenskjöld Land
Nordenskjöld Land
a peninsula in the central part of West Spitsbergen between Bellsund and Van Mijenfjorden on the south and Isfjorden on the north. Area, about 3,500 sq km; maximum elevation, 1,215 m.
About 10 percent of Nordenskjöld Land is covered by glaciers; the remainder is rock outcroppings, taluses, and moraines. The mountain tundras provide natural pasture for wild reindeer and for musk oxen brought from North America. Coal is mined by Soviet and Norwegian enterprises. The populated points are Longyearbyen and Barentsburg. The peninsula was named in honor of N. A. E. Nordenskjöld.