Storfjorden (Svalbard)
Storfjorden (English: Great Fjord) is the body of water separating Spitsbergen in the west from Barentsøya and Edgeøya to the east. Its southern limits are Kikutodden in Sørkapp Land east to Håøya, Tiholmane, Brækmoholmane, and Menkeøyane in Thousand Islands and northeast to Negerpynten—the southeastern promontory of Edgeøya. Its limits on its eastern side are Sundneset on the northern side of Freemansundet south to Palibinramten on the northwest coast of Edgeøya. The northern part is called Ginevrabotnen, which lies between Olav V Land and Barentsøya. It ends at Heleysundet.
Storfjorden was historically known as Wybe Jans Water, named after the Frisian whaler Wybe Jansz van Stavoren. The fjord was first labelled as such in 1620.
Storfjorden was the epicenter of a great earthquake 20 February 2008 UCT. Norway had one of its greatest earthquakes in history on the 21st of February 2008. On the Richter scale it was measured at 6.2.
References
- Conway, W. M. 1906. No Man’s Land: A History of Spitsbergen from Its Discovery in 1596 to the Beginning of the Scientific Exploration of the Country. Cambridge: At the University Press.
- Norwegian Polar Institute Place Names of Svalbard Database
- Watermass transformations in Storfjorden (R. Skogsetha, P.M. Haugan and M. Jakobsson. Elsevier Ltd. 2004
Coordinates: 77°49′26″N 19°40′50″E / 77.82389°N 19.68056°E