JAN MAYEN 01062025:

 JAN MAYEN 01062025:

On our first trip to the Arctic (10 years ago) we were able to stop at Jan Mayen and actually land. This area of the Arctic is known for it’s rough seas which makes landing rather difficult. We were told all but one of the expedition team have yet to land here on Jan Mayen. We consider our selves rather lucky.

Jan Mayen is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is 55 km (34 mi) long (southwest-northeast) and 377 km2 (146 sq mi) in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of 114.2 km2 (44.1 sq mi) around the Beerenberg volcano. It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide  isthmus. It lies 600 km (370 mi) northeast of  Iceland (495 km [305 mi] NE of Kolbeinsey, 500 km (310 mi) east of central Greenland, and 900 km (560 mi) northwest of Vesteralen, Norway. 

The island is mountainous, the highest summit being the Beerenberg volcano in the north. The isthmus is the location of the two largest lakes of the island, Sorlaguna (South Lagoon) and Nordlaguna  (North Lagoon). A third lake is called Ullerenglaguna (Ullereng Lagoon). Jan Mayen was formed by the Jan Mayen hotspot  and is defined by geologists as a micro content. 

Jan Mayen is home to  Beerenberg which is the northernmost active volcano  in the world.

 

Zodiac ride into shore, only take pictures, boots are dipped before you land and then scrubbed upon return.

We were on land for about 1.5 hours. There were whale bones, birdlife way up on the cliffs, lots of drift wood, and black sand beach. 

Back on the ship we got to use the very kewl boot washing device. 

After lunch (the food has been EXCELLENT!!) we went out deck 5 forward and watched birds and whales. The clouds lifted and we got to see most of the Beerenberg Volcano. 

Afternoon lecture was on WHALES MYTH BUSTING. 

Followed by a briefing on a citizen science application Naturalist.