Gashamna, Hornsund, Whale Bones - 14

A close up of a piece of whalebone over 350 years old and its attendant lush growth of mosses a result of the nutrients that were held within the bone when it was fresh.

Such bones continue to nourish plant life around them even centuries later an indication of the tight recycling that takes place and the slow pace of events in an arctic environment. Just a few feet away the ground is grey and sterile.

76° 56.7' N, 15° 49.9' E