Bear Island (Norway)

Bear Island (, ) is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island is located at the limits of the Norwegian and Barents seas, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape. Bear Island was discovered by Dutch explorers Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerck on 10 June 1596. It was named after a polar bear that was seen swimming nearby. The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty.

Bjørnøen AS is a Norwegian government enterprise that owns all land and some heritage buildings on the uninhabited overseas territory of Bjørnøya (Bear Island).

1954 aviation accident