The Svalbard archipelago is a Norwegian group of islands located in the Arctic Ocean, about 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) from the North Pole. It is home to the northernmost year-round settlements on Earth, with an overall population of about 2,900. In recent years, Svalbard has been moving its economy more toward tourism and scientific research and away from coal mining, which supported much of the economy since the early 20th century. Gathered below are recent images of the landscapes and inhabitants of Svalbard.
Scenes From Svalbard
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![Rows of white telecommunications domes stand on a snow-covered field before a distant view of mountains.]()
Read moreTelecommunication domes of KSAT, Kongsberg Satellite Services, on a mountaintop near Longyearbyen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on May 10, 2022 #
Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP / Getty -
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![A person stands on a cliff above a small town, seen below in the distance.]()
Read moreA view of Longyearbyen from above, seen on August 28, 2020 #
Maja Hitij / Getty -
![A view of a row of colorful houses.]()
Read moreColorful houses stand in a row in Longyearbyen on July 30, 2020. #
Sean Gallup / Getty -
![A person kneels to load a rifle in a snowy, treeless landscape.]()
Read moreA tour guide loads her rifle in Svalbard, Norway, on April 18, 2022. #
Rune Hellestad / Corbis via Getty -
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![A view of mountains and blue-green water]()
Read moreA view of mountains near Longyearbyen #
Jonathan Wells / EyeEm / Getty -
![Several old industrial buildings and a church on a hillside]()
Read moreThe Taubanesentralen, what used to be the pivot for a cableway to transport coal from the mines to the harbor in the past, stands near the Svalbard Church on May 2, 2022, in Longyearbyen. #
Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP / Getty -
![Huge rusty buckets hang from an abandoned cableway.]()
Read morePart of the old coal cableway near Longyearbyen #
Minoandriani / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![An Arctic fox stands on dark, rocky ground.]()
Read moreAn Arctic fox, photographed near Longyearbyen, on August 27, 2020 #
Maja Hitij / Getty -
![The face of a calving glacier]()
Read moreA view of Nordenskiold Glacier melting and collapsing in the ocean, near Pyramiden, Svalbard, on September 22, 2021 #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
![A polar bear near a shoreline, with a large glacier in the background]()
Read moreA hungry polar bear hunts along the shore, near Pyramiden, on September 21, 2021. #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
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![A polar bear walks along a rocky shore.]()
Read moreA polar bear walks along the shore near Pyramiden on September 21, 2021. #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
![A close view of a small black-and-white bird resting on rocks.]()
Read moreA little auk stands on its rocky hillside habitat during a summer heat wave on the Svalbard archipelago on July 29, 2020. #
Sean Gallup / Getty -
![Husky dogs pull a wheeled rig and musher across a grassy mountain scene.]()
Read moreHusky dogs pull a rig and musher Audun Salte through the town of Longyearbyen on August 6, 2019. #
Hannah Mckay / Reuters -
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![A reindeer grazes.]()
Read moreA reindeer grazes on land in Longyearbyen on August 4, 2019. #
Hannah Mckay / Reuters -
![An aerial view of a meltwater stream flowing down a glacier.]()
Read moreIn this aerial view from a drone, water carves a winding channel down the surface of the melting Longyearbyen glacier during a summer heat wave in Svalbard archipelago on July 31, 2020. #
Sean Gallup / Getty -
![A view of a concrete entrance to an underground vault, surrounded by snow]()
Read moreA view of Svalbard's global seed vault on February 25, 2020. The “doomsday” seed vault was built to protect food crops from climate change, wars, and natural disasters, keeping seeds safe deep within an Arctic mountain. #
Lise Aserud / NTB Scanpix / Reuters -
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![A partially obscured, reddish moon over a large, snow-covered mountain]()
Read moreA view of a super blue blood moon over Longyearbyen on January 31, 2018 #
Heiko Junge / NTB Scanpix / EPA / Reuters -
![An Arctic fox walks through snow.]()
Read moreAn Arctic fox walks through snow in Longyearbyen on May 4, 2022. #
Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP / Getty -
![A triangular warning sign depicts a snowmobile and reads "Scootertrafikk."]()
Read moreA snowmobile-traffic sign, photographed on April 18, 2022 #
Rune Hellestad / Corbis via Getty -
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![Three people drive snowmobiles in a snow-covered, mountainous area.]()
Read moreA snowmobile expedition in Svalbard, photographed on April 19, 2022 #
Rune Hellestad / Corbis via Getty -
![A small bust stands in a plaza among abandoned mining-town buildings.]()
Read moreA general view of a statue of Lenin standing in the middle of the abandoned ex-Soviet miners' village of Pyramiden, in front of the Nordenskioldbreen glacier in Svalbard, on September 21, 2021. Activity at the coal mine stopped in 1998 after a plane crash killed more than 100 miners, and the village has been abandoned ever since. #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
![A view inside an abandoned office, showing papers and belongings scattered among several desks.]()
Read moreAn abandoned administration office in the ex-Soviet miner's village of Pyramiden, on September 21, 2021 #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
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![Abandoned mining structures stand on a mountainside.]()
Read moreConveyor towers once used for transporting coal lead to a defunct mine on the Svalbard archipelago, photographed on August 27, 2020. #
Maja Hitij / Getty -
![A view of wind-driven waves on an ocean inlet, with a glacier in the distance]()
Read moreA view of wind-driven waves seen from Longyearbyen harbor on September 23, 2021 #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
![A view of the face of a calving glacier.]()
Read moreGeneral view of Nordenskjodbreen glacier on August 25, 2020 #
Maja Hitij / Getty -
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![The backbone and skeletal remains of a reindeer sit on a shoreline under overcast skies.]()
Read moreA reindeer skeleton lies on the ground along the shore near Pyramiden, Svalbard, on September 22, 2021. #
Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty -
![Buildings and houses stand on a snowy hillside.]()
Read moreA picture taken on May 2, 2022, shows buildings and houses in Longyearbyen. #
Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP / Getty -
![Houses stand at the foot of a steep mountain, along a shoreline.]()
Read moreHouses stand at the foot of a mountain near Longyearbyen on August 27, 2020. #
Maja Hitij / Getty -
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