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
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It is 30 km long and 5–8 km wide. Billefjorden lies between
Dickson Land
Dickson Land is a land area between Isfjorden and Wijdefjorden at Spitsbergen, Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean w ...
to the northwest and
Bünsow Land
Bünsow Land is a land area at the inner end of Isfjorden at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It forms a peninsula between Billefjorden and Sassenfjorden and Tempelfjorden
Tempelfjorden is a fjord branch at the inner end of Sassenfjorden, a part of ...
in the southeast. Located on its northwestern shore is the former
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
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 ...
(abandoned in 1998). To the northeast is
Nordenskiöldbreen
Nordenskiöldbreen (Nordenskiöld Glacier) is a glacier in Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is named after Finnish geologist Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1832–1901).
Geography
Nordenskiöldbreen is located between Dickson Land and Bünsow Land. The g ...
(Nordenskiöld Glacier). At its northeastern extreme is Adolf Bay.
The fjord is named after the
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
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
Adventfjorden (Advent Bay) is a 7 km long and 4 km wide bay running south-eastwards from the southern side of Isfjorden, on the west coast of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. The name represents a corruption of ''Adventure Bay'' - probably nam ...
) 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 fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and accreted or " sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its d ...
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