Adventdalen

The Adventdalen is an approximately 30 -km-long underground valley on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. It opens at the Advent fjord in Longyearbyen. There is the village of Longyearbyen, the capital of the archipelago at the mouth. The valley runs from the mouth of her first south, then east.

The valley has several side valleys, clockwise from the north: Mälardalen, Helvetia Dalen, Dalen Esker, in the south Jansson Dalen, Foxdalen, Bolterdalen, Todalen and Endalen, 4 km from Longyearbyen. The Adventelva flows through the valley.

Two of the seven coal mines Longyearbyen are located along the valley, Mine and Mine 6 7 (plus 3 very trove at the mouth to the ice fjord ). The Universities of Tromsø and Alaska operate a Polarlichtobservatiorium in Adventdalen, and the SOUSY weather radar, which was originally developed at the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy MPAE (now Solar System Research, MPS).

History and name

The valley takes its name from the fjord, the mention of which is considerably older. The name has nothing to do with Advent, but is a blemish of the English Adventure Bay, probably by an English whaler named Adventure ( dt: Adventure), who was stationed here in 1656. Originally called the fjord Billefjord, this name ( after the Danish whalers Cornelius Claeszoon Bille ) now bears but a fjord on the north side of Longyearbyen. Older names are therefore Claas Billen Baaij, Klaas Billen Bay, Klaas bille Baay, Be de Nicolas Bille or Klaas Billen Baai. The name Advent Bay first appears in 1865 Dunér and Nordenskiöld. Conway (1906 ) calls the Golf Adventure Bay and provides information on the origin.

On the eastern side of the fjord there was Advent City, a mine workers' settlement, which was inhabited from 1904 to 1917. The houses were later moved Hiorthamn ( about 2.5 km south-east ), so here are only foundations remain.

Literature and sources

  • C9 Adventdalen, from the 1:100,000 - card pack for Svalbard, Norsk Polarinstitutt
  • The Place - Names of Svalbard. Norsk Polarinstitutt, Oslo 1942, Issue 2001. ISBN 82-90307-82-9
EISCAT University of Alaska System Hiorthhamn Norwegian Polar Institute
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