Why do people carry rifles outside town?

For protection from polar bears

Why are burials limited in Longyearbyen?

Permafrost keeps bodies from decaying

What does the Svalbard Treaty allow?

Citizens of signing countries to live and work there

Svalbard Quiz: Midnight Sun, Polar Night and the Seed Vault

This Svalbard quiz travels to the far north between Norway and the North Pole. Play 10 interactive questions on Longyearbyen, the midnight sun and polar night seasons, the Global Seed Vault opened in 2008, polar bears and why people carry rifles, permafrost and burials, the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, Arctic research at Ny-Ålesund and the northern lights.

Start Svalbard Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Country
Which country governs Svalbard?
Town
What is Svalbard's main settlement?
Sun
What happens in summer?
Night
What happens in midwinter?
Vault
What does the Global Seed Vault store?
Bears
Why do people carry rifles outside town?
Permafrost
Why are burials limited in Longyearbyen?
Treaty
What does the Svalbard Treaty allow?
Research
Which settlement is a hub for Arctic research?
Lights
What can be seen during polar night?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which country governs Svalbard?
Answer: Norway
A 1920 treaty set the rules.
Q2: What is Svalbard's main settlement?
Answer: Longyearbyen
It is one of the northernmost towns.
Q3: What happens in summer?
Answer: The sun never sets
This is the midnight sun.
Q4: What happens in midwinter?
Answer: Polar night with no sunrise
Darkness lasts for weeks.
Q5: What does the Global Seed Vault store?
Answer: Crop seeds from around the world
It opened in 2008.
Q6: Why do people carry rifles outside town?
Answer: For protection from polar bears
Bears roam the islands.
Q7: Why are burials limited in Longyearbyen?
Answer: Permafrost keeps bodies from decaying
People are usually buried on the mainland.
Q8: What does the Svalbard Treaty allow?
Answer: Citizens of signing countries to live and work there
It was signed in 1920.
Q9: Which settlement is a hub for Arctic research?
Answer: Ny-Ålesund
Scientists from many countries work there.
Q10: What can be seen during polar night?
Answer: The northern lights
The dark skies help.

Midnight Sun, Polar Night and a Vault for Seeds

Svalbard is an Arctic archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Norway governs it under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which also lets citizens of signing countries live and work there. Its main town, Longyearbyen, is one of the northernmost towns in the world.

From about late April to late August the sun never sets, and from about mid-November to late January the sun never rises, a season called polar night when the northern lights glow. Permafrost keeps the ground frozen, so burials are limited and people are usually buried on the mainland.

Polar bears roam the islands, so people carry rifles when leaving town. Inside a mountain near Longyearbyen, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, opened in 2008, stores backup crop seeds from around the world. Ny-Ålesund hosts scientists from many countries studying the Arctic.

What This Quiz Teaches

Arctic fans will enjoy these questions.

Who governs Svalbard
How daylight changes
What the Seed Vault holds
How people stay safe
Which research happens there

Did You Know?

Svalbard reindeer are a small, stocky subspecies.
Coal mining built Longyearbyen.
Snowmobiles are a common way to travel in winter.
Glaciers cover much of the islands.
The archipelago is warming faster than most places.