Moffen Island

Moffen is a ring of gravel barely rising above the sea north of Spitsbergen, almost exactly on the eightieth parallel, with a shallow lagoon in the middle, and walrus have hauled out on it for as long as records exist. It is a nature reserve: between May and September no vessel may come within three hundred metres and no aircraft may fly below a thousand metres. Ships stop offshore and passengers watch through binoculars. The island first appeared on a map, by Hendrick Doncker of Amsterdam, in 1655.

Highlights

• The walrus haul-out - the animals on the gravel bar the island is known for.
• The eightieth parallel - the island sitting almost exactly on the line.
• The gravel ring - a low bar enclosing a shallow lagoon.
• The protection zone - the three-hundred-metre exclusion around it in season.

When to go

June to September is when ships reach this latitude. The approach restriction applies from May to September. Sea ice can prevent access entirely.

Good to know

No landing is permitted and ships must stay three hundred metres off, so viewing is distant and needs binoculars. Sea ice frequently prevents ships reaching it. There is nothing else at the island.

Nearby

Northwest Spitsbergen National Park is southwest, and Nordaustlandet is east.

Key facts