Background: This desolate, mountainous island was named after a Dutch whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers over the following centuries, the island came under Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Beerenberg volcano resumed activity in 1970; it is the northernmost active volcano on earth.
Jan Mayen Geography
Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the
Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
Geographic coordinates: 71 00 N, 8 00 W
Map references: Arctic Region
Area: total: 373 sq km
land: 373 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km