Longyeardalen
The Longyeardalen is about 4 km long glaciated valley on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard . At the mouth of the island is Longyearbyen , the main town in the archipelago. The valley runs from the head of the valley, bounded by the two glaciers Larsbreen and Longyearbreen , to the northeast, where it joins the Isfjorden at the Adventfjorden . It is located on Nordenskiöld Land .
The valley floor is mostly a sander that is traversed by the interwoven Longyearelva River and drains the two glaciers Larsbreen and Longyearbreen. The steep valley walls are heavily covered with debris and only have tundra vegetation in flatter sections . The valley is cut into easily weatherable sedimentary rocks (especially sandstone and clay slate) from the Tertiary and Cretaceous . Coal was still mined in Longyeardalen until 1996, but the numerous mines and pit cable cars still visible in the valley are no longer in operation (see also: Mining in Longyearbyen ).
Permafrost is widespread in the valley, so all utility lines run on piles above the ground. In the valley lies the district Nybyen , which was built in the 1940s as accommodation for the miners. Today these barracks are under monument protection and are still in use for other uses (dormitories for the students of the UNIS and hostels).
The valley is named after the American businessman John Munroe Longyear , who bought coal fields on the west side of the Adventfjorden from the Norwegians in 1904 and began mining the following year.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Larsson, S .: Geomorphological Effects on the Slopes of Longyear Valley, Spitsbergen, after a Heavy Rainstorm in July 1972. In: Geografiska Annaler. Series A, Physical Geography. No. 64, 1982, pp. 105-125.
Literature and Sources
- C9 Adventdalen , from the 1: 100,000 card set for Svalbard, Norsk Polarinstitutt
- The Place-Names of Svalbard: Longyeardalen . Norsk Polarinstitutt, Oslo 1942, 2001 edition. ISBN 82-90307-82-9
Coordinates: 78 ° 12 ' N , 15 ° 35' E