Longyeardalen

The Longyear Dalen is about 4 km long glacial valley on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. There is the village of Longyearbyen, the capital of the archipelago at the mouth. The valley runs from the end of the valley, bounded by the two glaciers Larsbreen and Longyearbreen, toward the northeast, where it joins the Advent fjord in the Isfjorden. It is located on the Nordenskiöld Land.

The valley floor is mostly a Sander is traversed by the intertwined Longyearelva river and the two glaciers Larsbreen and Longyearbreen dehydrated. The steep valley walls are heavily covered by scree and have only in shallower sections on tundra vegetation. The valley is easily weatherable sedimentary rocks cut (especially sandstone and shale ) from the Tertiary and Cretaceous. Until 1996 coal was mined in the Longyear Dalen yet, but today many are still visible in the valley of mines and mine cable cars are no longer in operation (see also: Mining in Longyearbyen ).

Permafrost is widespread in the valley, so that all supply lines run on poles above the ground. Into the valley lies the village of Nybyen, which was built in the 1940s as accommodation for the miners. Today, these barracks are under monument protection and are suitable for other uses continue in use ( dormitories for the students of UNIS and hostels).

Is named the valley after the American businessman John Munroe Longyear who bought from the Norwegians in 1904 on the west side of the Advent fjord coal fields, and it began with the dismantling of the year.