- Address: Jan Mayen, Norge
- Date of the last eruption: 1985.
- First ascent: 1921
- Height above sea level: 2277 m
The only active volcano in Norway is located at the northeast end of the island of Jan Mayen, which lies between the Norwegian and the Greenland Sea. It is called Berenberg, which translates as Bear Mountain. The Berenberg volcano is the most northern of all active volcanoes on Earth.
Eruptions
Stratovulkan, with a height of 2277 m, was considered extinct for a long time; it erupted, according to scientists, about 700 thousand years ago. When exactly he "woke up", it is not known, however, there are historical data on the eruptions of 1732, 1815 and 1851. After that, he again took a short break, and on September 20, 1970, his eruption began, which lasted until January 1971. As a result, the whalers living on the island had to be evacuated. Thanks to the lava flowing out of the volcano during this eruption, the island's area became larger by 4 square kilometers. km.
After that, Berenberg "woke up" in 1973. Another eruption - to date, the last one - occurred in 1985 and lasted about 40 hours. During this time, he poured out about 7 million cubic meters of lava.
Glaciers
Up to a height of 500 m the slopes of the mountain are covered with ice. The volcano crater, with an average diameter of 1 km, feeds glaciers with a total area of 117 square kilometers. km. Five of them reach the sea. The longest of these is Weyprech; it originates in the destroyed part of the rim of the crater in the northwest of the glacier.
Scientific research
For the first time, the ascent to Berenberg volcano was made by members of a scientific expedition in August 1921. The expedition included two Englishmen - James Mann Uordi, a polar explorer and geologist, and naturalist Charles Thomas Lethbridge, as well as a meteorologist from Switzerland Paul Louis Merkanton.
After the first expedition on the slopes of the volcano, a meteorological station was organized. It works here today; it is served by scientists from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
How to get to the volcano?
It is very difficult to get to Jan Mayen Island: in addition to the fact that there is no convenient airport or port, the island can be accessed only after the permission of the representative of the Norwegian government is obtained. Almost the only opportunity to admire the Berenberg volcano is to get an excursion to one of the Norwegian tour companies. It is best to visit the island in May-June
.