"Located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the town has regular modern amenities like schools, restaurants, and stores. However, it's unlike anywhere else on Earth. For starters, it's dark four months a year and perpetually light for another four months. Secondly, it's suggested residents carry a rifle when traveling outside the town borders - in case they run into a polar bear."
"Like many of the settlements in this part of the world, Longyearbyen was established as a mining town, though mining operations have since been phased out of the area. Now, the town is a place of scientific research and adventure tourism - it welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year. The town is also the home of the famous doomsday seed vault, which houses seeds for every known crop on the planet,"
Longyearbyen is a town of about 2,400 residents located in Svalbard, roughly 818 miles from the North Pole. The town provides modern amenities including a school, restaurants, stores, and a cinema. Seasonal extremes include four months of darkness followed by four months of continuous daylight. Residents are advised to carry a rifle outside town due to polar bear encounters. Originally founded as a mining settlement, mining has largely ended and the community now focuses on scientific research and adventure tourism, hosting tens of thousands of visitors annually. The nearby Global Seed Vault stores seeds for every known crop, while local conditions are too cold to support tree growth.
Read at Business Insider
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