 | |
 Interactive map of Edgeøya | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Arctic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 77°45′N22°30′E / 77.750°N 22.500°E /77.750; 22.500 |
| Archipelago | Svalbard |
| Area | 5,073 km2 (1,959 sq mi) 2,102 km2 (812 sq mi) glaciated |
| Coastline | 502 km (311.9 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 590 m (1940 ft) |
| Highest point | Kvitisen-Storskavlen |
| Administration | |
Norway | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Edgeøya (Norwegian:[ˈɛdʒˌœ͡ʏɑ]), anglicised asEdge Island, is aNorwegianisland located in southeast of theSvalbardarchipelago; with an area of 5,073 square kilometres (1,960 sq mi), it is the third-largest island in this archipelago.[1] AnArctic island, it forms part of theSøraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve, home topolar bears andreindeer. Anice field covers its eastern side. The island takes its name fromThomas Edge (died 1624), anEnglish merchant andwhaler. It is seldom[quantify] visited today and development of tourist facilities is forbidden by law because of its nature reserve status.[2][3]
The history of Edgeøya's discovery has been a matter of dispute. Thomas Edge, writing in 1622, claimed the island was discovered by one of his ships in 1616. However,Joris Carolus, in a map published in 1614 and allegedly based on discoveries made by him the same year, shows what appears to be Edgeøya's south coast. Carolus showed the coastline split into two parts: "Onbekende Cust" (meaning "Unknown Coast" in Dutch) in the west, and "Morfyn" in the east. Islands are shown offshore of Morfyn.Martin Conway argued in 1901 that Carolus' chart indicated he discovered Edgeøya,[4] but, as Wielder points out, Conway was ignorant of a map (engraved in 1612) by theDutchcartographerPetrus Plancius, which illustrated a coastline to the east of Spitsbergen. The coastline, indented, with islands offshore, was labelled "Gerrits Eylant". Wielder believed this to be the first record of Edgeøya's south coast.
Schilder, an expert on Dutch cartography, said Carolus merely copied both coastlines from earlier charts, while he believed that Plancius had copied some names from a chart by Mouris Willemsz, unknown to Wielder, that was published in 1608 or earlier by Cornelis Claeszoon (British Library, London). Willemsz's chart, which Schilder says shows Edgeøya labeled as "Groen Landt", does not show Edgeøya at all, but only shows a single coastline (not two) that is supposed to represent Spitsbergen. In fact, what appears to beBjørnøya is shown to the southeast of Spitsbergen. Plancius had thus only created a duplicate Spitsbergen. Carolus, as well, made a duplicate Spitsbergen, as hisMorfyn has an uncanny resemblance to Willemsz'sGroen Landt. This would indicate that the island would not have been discovered until 1616, as claimed by Edge. A 1617 letter written between the English whalers proves that Europeans had discovered the island at least at that late of date, or earlier, as Edge claims.
Four Russian sailors were marooned on Edgeøya, or a small island off the coast of Edgeøya, from 1743 until September 1749. Three survived to tell an epic tale of survival. AuthorDavid Roberts wrote a book about his research on this story,Four Against The Arctic.[5] He concluded, although not definitively, that the men were probably on a small island to the southeast of Edgeøya calledHalvmåneøya, or Half Moon Island.
While no major settlement grew upon Edgeøya, whaling andwalrushunting were extensive industries in the area. Remains of these can be found offshore of Edgeøya, onBölscheøya in theThousand Islands group.
Edgeøya is located atgeographical co-ordinates77°40′N22°30′E / 77.667°N 22.500°E /77.667; 22.500. To the west liesStorfjorden, which separates Edgeøya fromSpitsbergen. To the north, thesound known asFreemansundet lies between Edgeøya andBarentsøya. In the northeast,Olgastretet separates Edgeøya fromKong Karls Land. Minor island groups lay to the east (Ryke Yseøyane) and to the south (Thousand Islands). The island's south coast in indented by its largestfjord,Tjuvfjorden. The island's northernmost point is Kapp Heuglin, a cape named in August 1870 for theGerman explorerTheodor von Heuglin (1824–76), during the Heuglin-Zeil expedition.
Geologically, the island resembles central Spitsbergen, withMesozoic rocks (specifically,Triassicshales with subordinatesandstones, with occasionaldiabase intrusions, and, in the southwest,strata from theJurassic), the effects of glacialerosion, and appearance ofpolar ice caps. On the eastern side of the island is the large glacier ofEdgeøyjøkulen.
Along with Barentsøya and some of the neighbouring islands, Edgeøya forms part ofSouth East Svalbard Nature Reserve, established by the Norwegian government in 1973. There is a significant reindeer population, and the island is an important site forpolar bearreproduction; moreover, the polar bear population in this Barents Sea area is a uniquedeme (unique genetic population).[6]
Edgeøya is the setting for the novelThe Solitude of Thomas Cave (2007), byGeorgina Harding, in which the title character, on a wager, successfully over-winters on the island in 1616–17.
It is also the setting for the 2002 bookFour Against the Arctic by David Roberts, which tells the true story of 4Pomory sailors who spent 6 years on the island in the mid-18th century after their ship was destroyed.[7]
