Herd of walruses in northern Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago, Norway
© AWL Images/Danita Delimont
Go with the floe
What's the perfect thing to do under the midnight sun? If you're a walrus, the answer might be taking a quick dip with your crew, chowing down on clams and mussels, and then sunbathing on a beach or ice floe. Welcome to Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Our homepage stars were photographed in the waters off Spitsbergen, the largest of the archipelago's nine islands, where male and female herds are found year-round. Male walruses can reach almost 12 feet long and weigh more than 2,600 pounds. During mating season, they use this girth to fight among themselves for dominance over groups of females, called harems.
Whales, dolphins, arctic foxes, reindeer, and polar bears also frequent the archipelago. European whalers first visited Svalbard in 1611, and Norway and Russia still use the islands for coal production. Tourists come for months of summer days, the aurora borealis during polar night, or 'the blue hour' during February—when months of darkness are broken as the sun peeks above the horizon, flooding the landscape with magical blue light.