The more than 400 islands and skerries lie north of the Arctic Circle between 74 and 81 degrees north latitude and between 10 and 35 degrees east longitude, with the largest islands being Spitsbergen, Nordostland, Barentsøya, Edgeøya and Prins Karls Forland. These are relatively close to each other and extend a total of around 450 km (243 nm) in a north-south direction and 330 km (178 nm) in a west-east direction. While the coasts of Spitsbergen are generally ice-free in summer, the pack ice can reach as far as the southern tip of the archipelago in winter. The coasts of the islands are very rugged and interspersed with fjords. The boat is therefore an important means of transport, especially in summer when the swampy tundra cannot be crossed by land. More than 60 per cent of Spitsbergen’s land area is also covered by glaciers. One of them, the Austfonna, is the largest glacier in Europe in terms of area.

The climate around Spitsbergen is arctic. It is cool all year round with regular but low rainfall. The coastal regions are only free of snow for around six weeks in summer, while the fjords only freeze over occasionally in winter. Although the summers are cool, the winters are very mild despite the northern location, as the West Spitsbergen Current, an offshoot of the Gulf Stream, transports relatively warm water along the west coast into the Arctic Ocean. It is the main reason why the archipelago is inhabitable at all. In summer, which begins in early June with sunshine and ends at the end of September with fog, rain and snow, temperatures range between -2 °C and 17 °C. In winter it is between -25 °C and -25 °C. In winter, it is between -25 °C and 5 °C, with frequent snowfall and fog. The average annual temperature is -6.7 °C.

The only larger land mammals are the Svalbard reindeer, the polar bear and the Arctic fox. The polar bear, whose population in the archipelago is estimated at around 3,500 animals, is actually a marine animal, as it mainly lives on the surrounding sea ice. It migrates along the pack ice edge of the coast, as this is where its favourite prey, seals, can be found. Nevertheless, the predator can be expected to appear anywhere on the island at any time. Carrying a weapon is therefore a duty every time you go ashore.

The flora is typical of tundra vegetation. Most of the 130 flowering plants can also be found in the Scandinavian mountains and on Novaya Zemlya. There are species of saxifrage, cinquefoil, silverweed and many meadow plants such as grasses, dandelions and cotton grass. There are several species of willow, but only the polar willow (Salix polaris) is common.

The Norwegian capital of the archipelago is Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen, and there is also the Russian settlement of Barentsburg. Ny-Ålesund is a Norwegian-international settlement with research stations. Today, Spitsbergen has a total of around 2700 permanent inhabitants, resulting in a population density of around 0.04 inhabitants per square kilometre. The population in Longyearbyen is particularly international, with many people moving in and out every six months or year due to the exchange of students. In addition to Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Danes, there is a large group of Germans and other Western Europeans as well as the occasional US-American, and in the hotel service mainly Thais and Filipinos. In the Russian settlements, it is mainly Russians, Belarusians and Russian Ukrainians. A total of 54 different nations live on Spitsbergen [source: Wikipedia].