Billefjorden is the central fjord of the three branching from the innermost part of the
Isfjord
Isfjord, meaning 'Ice Fjord' in the Danish language, is a fjord in King Christian X Land, eastern Greenland.
The Isfjord is part of the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord complex''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute'', p. 120 in ...
en to the northeast, in
Svalbard,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It is 30 km long and 5–8 km wide. Billefjorden lies between
Dickson Land to the northwest and
Bünsow Land in the southeast. Located on its northwestern shore is the former
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n coal mining community of
Pyramiden
Pyramiden (; rus, Пирами́да, r=Piramída, p=pʲɪrɐˈmʲidə; literally 'The Pyramid') is an abandoned Soviet coal mining settlement on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard which has become a tourist destination. Founded by Sweden in ...
(abandoned in 1998). To the northeast is
Nordenskiöldbreen (Nordenskiöld Glacier). At its northeastern extreme is Adolf Bay.
The fjord is named after the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
whaler Cornelius Claeszoon Bille, who is mentioned as being active in 1675 by the Dutch whaler Cornelius Gisbert Zorgdrager. Originally another bay (now known as
Adventfjorden) had been labeled as ''Klass Billen Bay'', but
Dunér and
Nordenskiöld moved it to its present location.
The fjord is the site of the Billefjorden Fault Zone, which continues to the north and separates Svalbard’s north-eastern and north-western
terrane
In geology, a terrane (; in full, a tectonostratigraphic terrane) is a crust (geology), crust fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and Accretion (geology), accreted or "Suture (geology), sutured" to crust lying on another pla ...
s. In addition to the Pyramidan coal, gypsum is mined on the north side of the bay, at Skansbukta.
Sources
*Conway, W. M. 1906. No Man's Land: A History of Spitsbergen from Its Discovery in 1596 to the Beginning of the Scientific Exploration of the Country. Cambridge: At the University Press.
* Norwegian Polar Institute
Place names in Norwegian polar areas
Notes and references
Fjords of Spitsbergen
{{Spitsbergen-geo-stub