page_title: Jan Mayen
section_title: Nature reserve
hierarchical_section_title: Jan Mayen / Environment / Nature reserve
caption_attribution_description: English: Northwest coast of Jan Mayen island on a clear day, showing Nord-Jan and Beerenberg to the left and Sør-Jan to the right. Taken from the m/s Prinsendam.
context_page_description: Jan Mayen is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean, with no permanent population. It is 55 km long and 373 km² in area, partly covered by glaciers. It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by a 2.5 km wide isthmus. It lies 600 km northeast of Iceland, 500 km east of central Greenland and 1,000 km west of the North Cape, 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, Sørlaguna, and Nordlaguna. A third lake is called Ullerenglaguna. Jan Mayen was formed by the Jan Mayen hotspot.
  Although administered separately, in the ISO 3166-1 standard Jan Mayen and Svalbard are collectively designated as Svalbard and Jan Mayen, with the two-letter country code "SJ".
  The island and the circa 1960s NATO base is frequently referenced in the Kathryn Bigelow film, K-19: The Widowmaker.
context_section_description: A regulation dating from 2010 renders the island a nature reserve under Norwegian jurisdiction. The aim of this regulation is to ensure the preservation of a pristine Arctic island and the marine life nearby, including the ocean floor. Landings at Jan Mayen can be done by boat. However, this is permitted only at a small part of the island, named Båtvika (Boat Bay). As there is no commercial airline operating at the island, one cannot get there by plane except by chartering one. Admission for landings by a charter plane has to be obtained in advance. Admission to stay on the island has to be obtained in advance, and is generally limited to a few days (or even hours). Putting up a tent or setting up camp is prohibited. There is a separate regulation for the stay of foreigners.
caption: Panoramic photo of the northwest coast of Jan Mayen (swipe left or right)
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