Indre Wijdefjorden National Park

Indre Wijdefjorden National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway
Nearest city	Longyearbyen
Coordinates	79°N 16°E / 79°N 16°E / 79; 16Coordinates: 79°N 16°E / 79°N 16°E / 79; 16
Area	1,127 km2 (435 sq mi), of which 745 km2 (288 sq mi) is land 382 km2 (147 sq mi) is water
Established	9 September 2005
Governing body	Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management

Indre Wijdefjorden National Park (Norwegian: Indre Wijdefjorden nasjonalpark) is located in a steep fjord landscape in northern Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It covers the inner part of Wijdefjorden—the longest fjord on Svalbard. The national park was established on 9 September 2005 and covers 1,127 km² (435 sq mi), of which 745 km² (288 sq mi) is on land and 382 km² (147 sq mi) is sea. The marine environment changes vastly from the mouth of the fjord, through a still, cold, water basin, becoming deeper before reaching the glacier Mittag-Lefflerbreen at the inner-most sections of the fjord.

On both sides of Wijdefjorden there is High Arctic steppe vegetation, dominated by grasses and extremely dry, basic earth. There are some areas dominated by exposure of mineral earth. The area around the fjord has a vegetation which is unique and not preserved in other areas of Svalbard. Along with vegetation found on nesting cliffs, it is the most exclusive flora in Svalbard. There are several exclusive species in the national park, including Stepperøykvein, Puccinellia svalbardensis, Gentianella tenella and Kobresia simpliciuscula. Of the larger fjords on Svalbard, Wijdefjorden is the least affected by humans, although a trapping station has been built at Austfjordnes.

Indre Wijdefjorden National Park covers 1,127 km² (435 sq mi), of which 745 km² (288 sq mi) is on land and 382 km² (147 sq mi) is sea, making it the smallest national park in Svalbard. It is located in the steep fjord landscape on both sides of the inner ("Indre") parts of Wijdefjorden ("The Wide Fjord") on Spitsbergen. At 108 kilometres (67 mi) length, Wijdefjorden is the longest fjord on Svalbard. It is located on the northern coast of Spitsbergen, between Andrée Land to the west, Dickson Land to the south and Ny-Friesland to the east. The inner parts of Wijdefjorden split into two, with the eastern, 32-kilometre (20 mi) long part known as Austfjorden ("The East Fjord"), and the shorter as Vestfjorden ("The West Fjord"). At the end of Austfjorden is the glacier Mittag-Lefflerbreen.