Svalbard is domicile to seven national parks and twenty-three nature treasuries swathe two-thirds of the archipelago, defensive the basically intact, up till now brittle, atmosphere. Svalbard is a reproduction ground for lots of seabirds, and also features polar bears, short legged reindeer, polar foxes, whales, seals and walruses. The islands cover a total area of 62,050 square km, nearly 60% of which is covered by glacier with many outlet glaciers terminating in the sea. Some of these glaciers have small waterfalls formed from melting snow and ice. Most of Svalbard is barren rock but during the short summer, the melting snow in the milder parts of the islands give place to vast stretches of tundra vegetation, sometimes dotted with delicate flowers.
