Van Mijenfjorden

Van Mijenfjorden is the third longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. It lies in the southern portion of Spitsbergen island. The fjord is 83 km long, entering the island from Bellsund in the west, south of Nordenskiöld Land. The settlement of Sveagruva lies on the fjord's north bank.

The fjord is named after the Dutch whaler Willem van Muyden, who was involved in the trade in 1612 and 1613. Van Mijenfjorden (an obvious corruption of Van Muyden's name) was originally called "Low Sound", while the small cove north of Axel Island (at the mouth of the fjord) was called "Van Muyden's Haven". This latter name was moved from its proper location by Giles and Rep (c. 1710) and "floated over" to where modern cartographers now wrongly place it.

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 [http://miljo.npolar.no/placenames/pages/searchE.asp Place Names of Svalbard Database]

External links

* [http://www.norden.org/web/1-1-fakta/svalbard_kort.htm A detailed map of Svalbard with Van Mijenfjorden clearly labeled]