Amsterdam Island (Spitsbergen)
Amsterdam Island is a small island off the northwest coast of West-Spitsbergen. It is separated from Danes Island by the strait Danskegattet. Its total area is 16.8 km2. Its highest point is Hiertabreen, at 472 meters above sea level. The percentage of the island covered in ice is 11.5%.History
Amsterdam Island was first seen by Willem Barents in 1596. The Dutch first occupied it in 1614, building a temporary whaling station on the island's southeastern promontory. In 1619 a semi-permanent station was constructed. It came to be called Smeerenburg. The settlement went into decline in the 1640s, and was abandoned sometime before 1660.
