Norway
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
177km²
Area
88km
Coastline
536m
Highest point
Miseryfjellet
9
People
5°C
Warmest sea
August
406km
To the mainland
When to go to Bear Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (5 °C) and coolest in April (2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago
Bear Island is an island in Norway. It belongs to Svalbard. It covers 177 km², with 88 km of coastline. Its highest point, Miseryfjellet, rises to 536 m. About 9 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 406 km away.
Getting there
- 406 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Bear Island.
- 7named peaksUrd/Miseryfjellet, Verdande/Miseryfjellet, Skuld/Miseryfjellet and 4 more
- 39ruins and archaeological sitesMjogsjø, Tyskehuset and 37 more
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Bear Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Bear Island, each with its own numbers.
15beaches and covesCoastya
12mountainsPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas
Highest point
536m
Miseryfjellet
prominence 536 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
0.15km²
Ellasjøen
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
4.9°C
Teltvika
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
15 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Kvalrossfjæra4.7°C
- Teltvikacove4.9°C
- Lunckevikacove4.9°C
- Kvalkjeftencove4.9°C
- Lomholetcove4.6°C
- Lognvikacove4.8°C
- Iversenbuktacove4.8°C
- Hamnevikacove4.8°C
7 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
12 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Miseryfjelletprominence 536 m536m
- Skuld290m
- Urd250m
- Verdande200m
- Raudnuten105m
- Antarcticfjellet
- Alfredfjellet
- Hambergfjellet
4 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Ellasjøen0.15km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 74 m above the sea. 91 % of it is below 200 m.
- 60 %0–50 m
- 31 %50–200 m
- 9 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Night low (°C) | -3 | -3 | -4 | -2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Sea (°C) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 61 | 58 | 57 | 52 | 43 | 34 | 48 | 42 | 60 | 59 | 72 | 68 |
| Wet days | 19 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 19 |
| Sun h/day | — | 0.0 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 32 | 33 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 32 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −1.3 | −2.3 | −2.5 | −2.5 | −2.3 | −1.7 | −0.7 | +1.0 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | −0.5 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | −1.2 | −1.7 | −0.7 | −1.1 | −0.8 | −1.1 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.3 | −0.4 | −1.0 |
| 2022 | −1.7 | −2.1 | −1.5 | −0.9 | −1.6 | −0.8 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.6 |
| 2023 | −1.1 | −0.9 | −1.7 | −0.8 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | −0.7 | ±0.0 | +0.8 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −1.1 |
| 2024 | −1.3 | −1.0 | −1.0 | −1.3 | −0.5 | −0.6 | −0.5 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −1.0 |
| 2025 | −1.6 | −0.1 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −1.1 | −1.2 | −0.8 | −0.6 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +0.7 | −0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q194364) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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