Gällivare
Gällivare (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjɛ̌lːɪvɑːrɛ];[2] Finnish: Jällivaara; Northern Sami: Jiellevárri or Váhčir; Meänkieli: Jellivaara) is a locality and the seat of Gällivare Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 8,449 inhabitants in 2010.[1] The town was founded in the 17th century. Together with nearby towns Malmberget and Koskullskulle it forms a conurbation with some 15,000 inhabitants. This conurbation is the second northernmost significant urban area of Sweden after Kiruna.
Gällivare | |
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The main street (Storgatan) and December 2005 snow and Christmas lights in Gällivare at about noon. | |
Gällivare Gällivare | |
Coordinates: 67.130°N 20.66°E | |
Country | Sweden |
Province | Lapland |
County | Norrbotten County |
Municipality | Gällivare Municipality |
Area | |
• Total | 7.48 km2 (2.89 sq mi) |
Population (31 December 2010)[1] | |
• Total | 8,449 |
• Density | 1,130/km2 (2,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Gällivare is situated at the northern end of the Inlandsbanan railway line, just about 100 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. Gällivare is located in a major iron ore mining region. Adjacent to Gällivare (about five kilometres) is Malmberget, known as a site for iron ore extraction from deep mines by LKAB.
Outside Gällivare lies the ski resort Dundret, which is equipped with six ski lifts and ten groomed slopes along with a conference center and hotel. The ski season stretches from the end of October all the way into early May. The town has been host for several World Cup skiing events, both alpine and cross-country.
Gällivare is the central place for the Firstborn Laestadian movement.
It was the host town for the 2008 VIVA World Cup and also the filming spot for Avicii's single "Addicted to You".
Climate
As expected given its high latitude Gällivare has a rather cold climate. Under the Köppen climate classification it is classified as a subarctic climate. Winters are very severe by Scandinavian standards, but are somewhat moderated by marine air from the North Atlantic and certain cities on the North American Great Plains much further south such as Winnipeg and Grand Forks lower than 50 degrees latitude have colder January averages than Gällivare has. The winter temperature varies a lot due to the location between the open ocean and the large snow covered land mass, and can be −30 °C (−22 °F) one day and 0 °C (32 °F) next.
Gällivare experiences midnight sun for a significant period of summer, but due to its proximity to the Arctic Circle to the south sees some glimpses of daylight even during winter solstice. As a result of the midnight sun and its inland position, temperatures can occasionally get hot in summer, with an all-time high of 34.5 °C (94.1 °F).
Climate data for Gällivare (averages 2002–2018; extremes since 1901) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) |
7.5 (45.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
19.0 (66.2) |
28.2 (82.8) |
30.6 (87.1) |
34.5 (94.1) |
31.4 (88.5) |
24.1 (75.4) |
16.7 (62.1) |
9.6 (49.3) |
8.0 (46.4) |
34.5 (94.1) |
Mean maximum °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
5.9 (42.6) |
11.9 (53.4) |
21.2 (70.2) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.7 (78.3) |
24.5 (76.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
11.2 (52.2) |
4.6 (40.3) |
3.4 (38.1) |
27.1 (80.8) |
Average high °C (°F) | −8.2 (17.2) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
4.5 (40.1) |
11.1 (52.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
20.1 (68.2) |
17.3 (63.1) |
11.6 (52.9) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
5.0 (41.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −13.1 (8.4) |
−11.9 (10.6) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
5.9 (42.6) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.7 (58.5) |
12.2 (54.0) |
7.2 (45.0) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
0.1 (32.3) |
Average low °C (°F) | −18.0 (−0.4) |
−17.1 (1.2) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
0.7 (33.3) |
5.7 (42.3) |
9.2 (48.6) |
7.0 (44.6) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−14.9 (5.2) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
Mean minimum °C (°F) | −31.8 (−25.2) |
−31.4 (−24.5) |
−26.5 (−15.7) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−14.6 (5.7) |
−24.1 (−11.4) |
−28.5 (−19.3) |
−34.9 (−30.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −43.3 (−45.9) |
−40.0 (−40.0) |
−36.5 (−33.7) |
−33.5 (−28.3) |
−20.0 (−4.0) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−24.0 (−11.2) |
−33.5 (−28.3) |
−39.1 (−38.4) |
−43.3 (−45.9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 40.8 (1.61) |
32.6 (1.28) |
21.9 (0.86) |
26.9 (1.06) |
50.3 (1.98) |
65.7 (2.59) |
97.8 (3.85) |
76.0 (2.99) |
69.2 (2.72) |
42.8 (1.69) |
49.9 (1.96) |
48.4 (1.91) |
622.3 (24.5) |
Source 1: SMHI Open Data[3] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: SMHI climate data 2002–2018[4] |
High incidence of congenital insensitivity to pain
Some inhabitants near Gällivare, mainly in the village of Tjautjas (also Tjautjasjaure or Čavččas) 20 km outside Gällivare, have a remarkably high incidence of congenital insensitivity to pain, an extremely rare disease which inhibits the sensation of pain, heat and cold. There have been nearly 40 reported cases in the area.[5]
Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Gällivare:
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gällivare. |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gällivare. |
- "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- Sahlgren, Jöran; Bergman, Gösta (1979). Svenska ortnamn med uttalsuppgifter (in Swedish). p. 10.
- "SMHI Öppen Data för Gällivare A" (in Swedish). Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute.
- "Yearly & Monthly statistics" (in Swedish). SMHI. 23 June 2019.
- Minde J (2006). "Norrbottnian congenital insensitivity to pain". Acta Orthopaedica Supplementum. 77 (321): 2–32. PMID 16768023.