Gällivare

"Gellivara" redirects here. For the asteroid, see 1073 Gellivara.
Gällivare

The main street (Storgatan) and December 2005 snow and Christmas lights in Gällivare at about noon.
Gällivare
Coordinates: 67°07′48″N 20°39′36″E / 67.130°N 20.66°E / 67.130; 20.66Coordinates: 67°07′48″N 20°39′36″E / 67.130°N 20.66°E / 67.130; 20.66
Country Sweden
Province Lapland
County Norrbotten County
Municipality Gällivare Municipality
Area[1]
  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 CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Gällivare (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 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.

Gällivare is twinned with Barga in Tuscany, Italy.

Gällivare was the filming spot for Avicii's single Addicted To you.

Climate

As expected given its high latitude Gällivare has a very 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 preventing polar temperatures 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.

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, temperatures can occasionally get hot in summer, with an all-time high of 34.5 °C (94.1 °F).

Climate data for Gällivare (temperature averages 2002-2015; precipitation 1961-1990)
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)
24.0
(75.2)
16.7
(62.1)
9.6
(49.3)
8.0
(46.4)
34.5
(94.1)
Average high °C (°F) −8.1
(17.4)
−6.5
(20.3)
−1.2
(29.8)
4.6
(40.3)
10.9
(51.6)
16.3
(61.3)
19.9
(67.8)
17.5
(63.5)
11.5
(52.7)
3.3
(37.9)
−2.7
(27.1)
−5.7
(21.7)
4.9
(40.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −13.0
(8.6)
−11.9
(10.6)
−6.8
(19.8)
−0.3
(31.5)
5.8
(42.4)
11.0
(51.8)
14.5
(58.1)
12.3
(54.1)
7.0
(44.6)
−0.1
(31.8)
−6.9
(19.6)
−10.3
(13.5)
0.1
(32.2)
Average low °C (°F) −17.8
(0)
−17.2
(1)
−12.5
(9.5)
−5.2
(22.6)
0.6
(33.1)
5.8
(42.4)
9.1
(48.4)
7.0
(44.6)
2.5
(36.5)
−3.4
(25.9)
−11.0
(12.2)
−15.0
(5)
−4.7
(23.5)
Record low °C (°F) −43.3
(−45.9)
−40.0
(−40)
−36.5
(−33.7)
−33.5
(−28.3)
−20.0
(−4)
−6.0
(21.2)
0.0
(32)
−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) 33.8
(1.331)
27.2
(1.071)
27.8
(1.094)
28.3
(1.114)
36.2
(1.425)
50.7
(1.996)
80.1
(3.154)
77.3
(3.043)
55.4
(2.181)
48.8
(1.921)
47.2
(1.858)
37.2
(1.465)
550.9
(21.689)
Source #1: SMHI precipitation average 1961-1990[2]
Source #2: SMHI climate data 2002-2015[3]

High incidence of congenital insensitivity to pain

Some inhabitants near Gällivare, mainly in the village of Tjautjas (also Tjautjasjaure or Čavččas) 20km 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.[4]

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Gällivare:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gällivare.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gällivare.
  1. 1 2 3 "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.
  2. "Precipitation normals 1961-1990 (Swedish)" (in Swedish). Swedish Metereological and Hydrological Institute (Gällivare code 18 073 ).
  3. "Yearly & Monthly statistics" (in Swedish). SMHI. March 9, 2016.
  4. Minde J (2006). "Norrbottnian congenital insensitivity to pain". Acta orthopaedica. Supplementum 77 (321): 2–32. PMID 16768023.
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