16 February 2018 – Bouvet island

The island, which covers an area totalling 50 square kilometres, is almost completely covered by ice. It was sighted in 1739 by French explorer J. B. C. Bouvet de Lozier.

The first Norvegia expedition under Captain H. Horntvedt set foot on the island on 1 December 1927 and claimed it for Norway. By royal decree, Bouvet Island was annexed to Norway on 23 January 1928, and in 1930 it was declared a Norwegian dependency.

The island is the top of a basalt volcano that is sticking out of the South Atlantic Ocean in an area normally referred to as the Southern Ocean. The island measures approximately 9.5 km from east to west and approximately seven km from south to north. The last volcanic eruption on Bouvet Island took place a very long time ago, but emission of volcanic gases has been recorded in modern times, too.

Tens of thousands of penguins nest on Bouvet Island in the summer, primarily macaroni penguins and chinstrap penguins, but also some Adélie penguins, which are a more southerly species. Other nesting bird species commonly found on the island include the southern fulmar, in the tens of thousands, and various petrels, including the Cape petrel and the storm petrel. Bouvet Island is also home to a colony of around one thousand Antarctic fur seals and several hundred southern elephant seals.

Bouvet Island became a nature reserve in 1971. It is part of an international environmental monitoring network and the Norwegian Polar Institute conducts regular expeditions there. 

Facts:

NK 1977–1978
Date of issue: 16 February 2018
Values and subjects:
Kr 24.–: Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)
Kr 38.–: Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus)
Design: Magnus Rakeng
Photos: © Norwegian Polar Institute
Printing method: Offset
Printing house: Joh. Enschedé Security Print