Svalbard, Arctic Ocean
The Svalbard Islands are located north of Norway, well within the Arctic Circle. The group of nine main islands was discovered in the 12 century by Norwegian explorers. They served as an international whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, but today they are governed by Norway. Many of the approximately 2800 people who live here are connected to coal-mining, the major industry of the islands. As this true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image shows, the islands consist of rugged, ice-covered mountains. The Terra satellite captured this image on August 27, 2003.
