Festningen Geotope Protected Area

{{Infobox Protected area

| name = Festningen Geotope Protected Area

| iucn_category = III

| photo = Spitzbergen festningen hg.jpg

| photo_width =

| photo_caption =

| map_image = Festningen Geotope Preservation Area locator map.svg

| location = Svalbard, Norway

| nearest_city = Barentsburg

| coords = {{coord|78|5.1|N|13|50.9|E|region:NO|display=inline,title}}

| area = {{convert|16.6|km2|abbr=on}}{{cite web|url=http://dnweb12.dirnat.no/nbinnsyn/asp/faktaark.asp?iid=VV00002575 |title=Festningen geotopvernområde |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management |accessdate=28 March 2010 |language=Norwegian |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724175342/http://dnweb12.dirnat.no/nbinnsyn/asp/faktaark.asp?iid=VV00002575 |archivedate=24 July 2011 |df= }}

| established = 26 September 2003

| visitation_num =

| visitation_year =

| governing_body = Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management

}}

Festningen Geotope Protected Area ({{langx|no|Festningen geotopvernområde}}) is located at the outermost edge of Grønfjorden's mouth to Isfjorden on Nordenskiöld Land, Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. The profile is a cliff which runs along the coast from Kapp Starostin to Festningsodden.{{cite web |url=http://www.npolar.no/geonet/pdf_files/Guide%20FESTNINGSPROFILET.pdf |title=Festningsprofilet |publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute |accessdate=6 April 2010|language=Norwegian}} It covers an areas of {{convert|16.6|km2}}, of which {{convert|14|km2}} is on land and {{convert|3|km2}} in the sea.{{cite web|url=http://www.dirnat.no/attachment.ap?id=1043 |title=Protected Areas in Svalbard |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management |accessdate=24 March 2010 |language=Norwegian |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927000359/http://www.dirnat.no/attachment.ap?id=1043 |archivedate=27 September 2011 |df= }} Barentsburg is the closest settlement, located {{convert|6|km|0}} away, across Grønfjorden. Festningen was protect on 26 September 2003, as part of a major expansion of the protected areas in Svalbard.{{cite web |url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dokumentarkiv/Regjeringen-Bondevik-II/md/Nyheter-og-pressemeldinger/2003/nye_forskrifter_for_vern_av_svalbard.html?id=250047 |title=Nye forskrifter for vern av Svalbard |publisher=Norwegian Ministry of the Environment |accessdate=24 March 2010|language=Norwegian}} The protected areas is administrated by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management and the Governor of Svalbard. Festningen ("The Fortress") is a traditional name given by Norwegian hunters to the area because it looked like a natural fortress.{{cite web|url=http://miljo.npolar.no/placenames/pages/detaile.asp?placeNameID=83644P |title=Festningen |publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute |accessdate=6 April 2010 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606112030/http://miljo.npolar.no/placenames/pages/detaile.asp?placeNameID=83644P |archivedate=6 June 2011 |df= }}

The geotope profile consists of geological succession deposits from several hundred millions of years. It has nearly vertical layers with continual exposure from the Permian period to the Cenozoic era. The stratigraphical features were recorded during the 1910s and 1920s, and are used within geological sciences as a strategic reference profile. Fossilized footprints of an Iguanodon dinosaur, {{convert|0.5|m}} in diameter, dating from 100 million years ago, have been found at Festningen. They were {{convert|10|to|12|m}} long and {{convert|3|to|5|m}} tall. Located on a cliff, they were highly exposed to erosion; after they were found and copied, the slab fell into the sea.