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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The 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 -
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In 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 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 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 -
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