Eureka Nunavut Maxi Card

I had to try. And actually, despite a little slip that messed the cancel up a bit the post master did an ok job. It isn't smugged, it's straight and it's well placed. But looking at it now, I have to say I'm not crazy about that stamp. I should have waited for Canada Post to issue something better. I didn't want to use a bigger stamp though and the self-adhessives are so much easier to place. Maybe I'll try again someday when they get a new cancel.

After looking at this postcard a bit, it seems obvious to me now that it is not a real image. Polar bears are solitary animals. They don't spend time together, lying around on the ice. If you look at the bear on the left, clearly he was "added" to the image. He's sitting on the ice yet it looks more like he's sitting in a hole. It was probably an image of a bear sitting in the snow and someone photoshopped him out and onto this image. It's a shame really. as it doesn't add to the image. And now that I know it's fake I can't look at this card without seeing how obvious it is. 

Hopen, Norway

I received this back from the the MET station on Hopen Island. Hopen is part of the Svalbard archipelago. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has had a weather station operating on the island since 1948. The station is manned with a staff of four in six month rotations with the Coast Guard resupplying the station twice a year, usually n July and September. This cover was cancelled on September 16.

Longyearbyen, Norway

Longyearbyen is the administrative capital of the Svalbard archipelago. It lies about half way between the north coast of Norway and the North Pole.

Hammerfest, Norway

Hammerfest is a town in Northern Norway with a population of around 10,000. It claims to be the Northernmost city in the world; a title that is disputed by Honningsvåg Norway which is further North but does not have the population required to be classified as a city. In the summer months, Hammerfest is invaded by migrating reindeer.

Barrow, Alaska

Barrow is the Northern most city in the US: over 500km North of the Arctic Circle. The 4000 people that call Barrow home have no roads connecting them with the rest of Alaska. Air transport is the main way in or out.

Thule Air Base Cover

The Thule Air Base is the northernmost US Air Force base, located on the North West shore of Greenland, 1118 km north of the arctic circle. The base was built in secrecy during the early 1950’s and still serves as a military base, home to the 821st Air Base Group. Two Inuit villages, Pitfuffik and Dundas, were displaced by the Air Base and relocated to a new village site 130km away.

Active Post Offices in the Canadian Arctic

Last month I got this cover back from Eureka Nunavut and I was pleased to not only see a pictorial cancel but also a cachet. There is another similar cachet on the back of the cover. Eureka is known as the garden spot of the Arctic because the area is home to more plants and wildlife than anywhere else on Ellesmere Island.

Over the past few months I've received a number of covers from post offices all across the Canadian Arctic. I've assembled the best of them and put images of them on a page here. Also on that page I've included a google map that shows all of the Canada Post outlets located above the Arctic Circle.

Two Covers from Norway

These are two covers that were retuned to me from Norway today. Tromsø located at 69°40′N 18°56′E is the largest city in North Norway. Ny-Ålesund located at 78°55′N 11°56′E on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway is one of the worlds Northern most settlements.

Cover from Svalbard

Received this cover from Svalbard Norway today. It was post marked "Tempelfjorden". The Tempel Fjord is about 60km East of Longyearbyen. In the winter a schooner, the Noorderlicht, remains in the fjord icebound and acts as a tourist stop for people on dog sled or snow mobile tours out of Longyearbyen. On the ice next to the ship is a mail box where tourists can mail post cards. Apparently the mail is transported back to Longyearbyen by dog sled, hence the "Polar Dog Mail" cancellation mark.

I received this cover in July when the ship is not frozen in the ice. Was my cover post marked at Tempelfjorden? Not likely. My guess is that it was actually cancelled in Longyearbyen since that's where I originally sent it to.

Jan Mayen Cover

Jan Mayen is a small volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Norway and even though it is part of the Kingdom of Norway, the closest part of Norway is some 1000 km away. There are no civilian settlements on the island but the Norwegian Armed Forces mans a research station there year round. It took a couple of month to get my cover cancelled (slow delivery or perhaps a slow post office) but only two weeks to get it back to Canada. The cancel turned out perfect. I used a pair of Preserve the Polar Region stamps from the Norwegian souvenir sheet. I didn’t want to remove them from the sheet but I wasn’t too sure how the cancel would look against its grey background so out they came.

Jan Mayen is located at 70°59′N 8°32′W putting it just above the Arctic Circle.