Dunderlandsdal
Encyclopedia
Dunderlandsdalen is a valley in Rana
municipality in the county of Nordland
, Norway
. From just below the plateau of eastern Saltfjellet
, it continues south-westward to the Ranfjord
(latitude 66 20 N.). It's located 8 miles south of the Arctic circle.
Central places, from the foot of Saltfjellet
in north and soutwards, are Krokstrand, Bjøllånes, Storvoll, Dunderland
, Eiterå
, Nevernes, Storforshei
, Nevermoen and Røssvoll.
European route E6
passes through Dunderlandsdalen. The tunnel Illhøllia tunnelen, between Nevermoen and Røssvoll, was opened in 2002. The Nordlandsbanen
railway also follows the valley. Bolna
is situated in the uppermost part of the valley.
Sidevalleys are Plurdalen, Røvassdalen, Bjøllådalen, Grønfjelldalen and Virvassdalen.
The small valley is sight to several accidents and recorded events in Norwegian history.
During the second world war, Nazis had several concentration camps in the valley. They mainly housed Polish and Russian prisoners, used to build the Nordlandsbanen railway from Trondheim. The stretch covering Saltfjellet was extremely brutal and many lost their lives building this. The German troops disposed the majority of the diseased the the Rana Elva (river). The strong currents made it almost impossible to recover anyone.
In 1948 the Dunderlandsdal-accident hit. To present day the worst bus accident in Norwegian history. A bus with native Norwegian Sami-people slid of the road and headed out in the Rana Elva (river). From the 23 people on board, 16 were never found. A memorial stone with engraved names of the dead, was placed on the accident sight in 1950. The sight is to present day, considered a holy place to the Sami people.
In 1953 a family tragedy struck the valley. A family was found slaughtered at a remote farm. A young girl at the age of 6 and her mother were found killed in the barn. The father was found hung in the same barn.
In 1995 another tragic event hit the valley. During a boy scout camp at an old farm, a 12 year old girl disappeared. The girl was from the town of Tromsø, in northern Norway. The event was widely covered in Norwegian press. Search crews went on it for two years, but all they found was her backpack. It was located by the Rana Elva (river).
Today the valley only house a small number of people and has an abandoned station on the Nordlandsbanen railway.
. Its mining
industry has produced Fauske marble, also present on Fauske
. On Storforshei
, there have been a large-scale iron
mining industry.
There are also pyrites mines. The valley has several stalactite caverns in the limestone, some of the tributary streams flowing for considerable distances underground. From the head of Dunderlandsdal a sequestered bridle-path runs to Saltdal on the Skjerstadfjord, with a branch through the magnificent Junkersdal.
provided water-power. The company was dismantled in 1947.
Since 1937, Rana Gruber has worked out iron ore. Norsk Jernverk
was established in 1946, and began in 1964 to work out magnetite
and hematite
from the iron ore.
. In the summer of 2003 a Danish tourist discovered a «battle axe» (Streitaxe) close to the river of Eiterå
. The axe was delivered to the Cultural Department of Rana Museum on July 1, 2004.
This is the first discovery of the battle axe culture
in inner parts of North Norway. In 1913, a 20 cm long axe from the same cultural horizon was discovered on Brattland in Utskarpen
.
The axe is a «boat-axe» of Swedish-Norwegian type from 2800−2400 BC. It was no functional tool, but a dignity symbol of worthiness and a high social class. It may have belonged to a local chieftain.
The stripe on the backside of the axe resembles an edge from moulding, and is an imitation of moulded axes in bronze
from Skåne or Denmark
. According to the geologist Barbara Prisemann (Department of Natural history, Rana museum), the axe is made from the rock type
green shale.
the valley has a special symbolic value due to a tragic incident that occurred about one hundred years ago. In the early 1900s a bus returning from a Sámi conference in Tromsø
drove off the road and crashed into the river at the bottom of the valley. Most of the people aboard the bus died, and thus the South Sámi lost most of their political leaders in one single blow. There is a memorial on the site where the bus ran off the road, somewhat hidden in the forest but accessible from the road by a small stairway.
Rana, Norway
Rana is the second largest municipality in Nordland county – and the third largest in North Norway – by population. By area, Rana is largest in Norway south of Finnmark , taking in large areas of mountains and forested valleys. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region...
municipality in the county of Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. From just below the plateau of eastern Saltfjellet
Saltfjellet
Saltfjellet is a mountain area in Nordland, Norway that separates the two regions of Helgeland and Salten. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of Sápmi.-Geography and environment:...
, it continues south-westward to the Ranfjord
Ranfjord
The Ranfjord is a fjord in the Helgeland district. The largest part of the fjord is in Rana municipality, Nordland county, Norway. The Ranelva meets the Ranfjord in Mo i Rana at the head of the fjord....
(latitude 66 20 N.). It's located 8 miles south of the Arctic circle.
Central places, from the foot of Saltfjellet
Saltfjellet
Saltfjellet is a mountain area in Nordland, Norway that separates the two regions of Helgeland and Salten. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of Sápmi.-Geography and environment:...
in north and soutwards, are Krokstrand, Bjøllånes, Storvoll, Dunderland
Dunderland
Dunderland is a village in the Dunderlandsdal valley in Rana municipality, Norway.The village has a train station on Nordlandsbanen, between Skonseng and Lønsdal. The station is 127 meters above sea level.-External links:*...
, Eiterå
Eiterå (Rana in Norway)
Eiterå [ei`terå] , also called Eiteråga [e`iterå:ga], is the name of both a river and a small village in Dunderlandsdal, 7 km north of Storforshei, in Rana municipality, Norway. European route E6 pass through the small village....
, Nevernes, Storforshei
Storforshei
Storforshei is a village in Rana municipality, Norway, located northeast of Mo i Rana. Its population is 690 . It is the location of the Rana Mine and the Arctic Circle Raceway....
, Nevermoen and Røssvoll.
European route E6
European route E6
European route E 6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway, and the west coast of Sweden, running from the southern tip of Sweden, at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. The route ends close to the Norwegian border with Russia...
passes through Dunderlandsdalen. The tunnel Illhøllia tunnelen, between Nevermoen and Røssvoll, was opened in 2002. The Nordlandsbanen
Nordlandsbanen
The Nordland Line is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø in Norway. Running for approximately 729 km, it is the Norwegian railway system's longest line, and the only one in Norway to cross the Arctic Circle. It is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration...
railway also follows the valley. Bolna
Bolna, Rana
Bolna is a mountain in Saltfjellet, in Rana municipality, Norway. The mountain peak is 1,460 m above sea level. Bolna is also the name of a railway station on the Nordlandsbanen south of this mountain, situated in the upper part of Dunderlandsdal valley at 548.6 m above sea level, and only a few km...
is situated in the uppermost part of the valley.
Sidevalleys are Plurdalen, Røvassdalen, Bjøllådalen, Grønfjelldalen and Virvassdalen.
The small valley is sight to several accidents and recorded events in Norwegian history.
During the second world war, Nazis had several concentration camps in the valley. They mainly housed Polish and Russian prisoners, used to build the Nordlandsbanen railway from Trondheim. The stretch covering Saltfjellet was extremely brutal and many lost their lives building this. The German troops disposed the majority of the diseased the the Rana Elva (river). The strong currents made it almost impossible to recover anyone.
In 1948 the Dunderlandsdal-accident hit. To present day the worst bus accident in Norwegian history. A bus with native Norwegian Sami-people slid of the road and headed out in the Rana Elva (river). From the 23 people on board, 16 were never found. A memorial stone with engraved names of the dead, was placed on the accident sight in 1950. The sight is to present day, considered a holy place to the Sami people.
In 1953 a family tragedy struck the valley. A family was found slaughtered at a remote farm. A young girl at the age of 6 and her mother were found killed in the barn. The father was found hung in the same barn.
In 1995 another tragic event hit the valley. During a boy scout camp at an old farm, a 12 year old girl disappeared. The girl was from the town of Tromsø, in northern Norway. The event was widely covered in Norwegian press. Search crews went on it for two years, but all they found was her backpack. It was located by the Rana Elva (river).
Today the valley only house a small number of people and has an abandoned station on the Nordlandsbanen railway.
Geology
The mountain rocks in Dunderlandsdal is a caledonian shale, known from its occurrences of iron ore, mica schist and marbleMarble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. Its mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
industry has produced Fauske marble, also present on Fauske
Fauske
is a town and municipality located in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fauske with approximately 6,000 inhabitants....
. On Storforshei
Storforshei
Storforshei is a village in Rana municipality, Norway, located northeast of Mo i Rana. Its population is 690 . It is the location of the Rana Mine and the Arctic Circle Raceway....
, there have been a large-scale iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
mining industry.
There are also pyrites mines. The valley has several stalactite caverns in the limestone, some of the tributary streams flowing for considerable distances underground. From the head of Dunderlandsdal a sequestered bridle-path runs to Saltdal on the Skjerstadfjord, with a branch through the magnificent Junkersdal.
Mining
Deposits of iron ore was known since 1799, and was worked out by Dunderland Iron Ore Company in several operative periods, the first one from 1902. The river RanelvaRanelva
Ranelva is a 130 km long river in the municipality of Rana, and is one of the longest rivers in the county of Nordland, Norway. The river begins on Saltfjellet, in the borders between Norway and Sweden, and flows northwestwards under the name Randalselv . Ranelva begins where Randalselva and the...
provided water-power. The company was dismantled in 1947.
Since 1937, Rana Gruber has worked out iron ore. Norsk Jernverk
Norsk Jernverk
Norsk Jernverk is a former Norwegian industrial company which was founded in 1946 in Mo i Rana, fully owned by the State of Norway. The production started in 1955. In 1985 it acquired the steel company Christiania Spigerverk, which was later again sold out as a separate company...
was established in 1946, and began in 1964 to work out magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
and hematite
Hematite
Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...
from the iron ore.
Settlements in the stone age
There have been settlements in Dunderlandsdal since the stone ageStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. In the summer of 2003 a Danish tourist discovered a «battle axe» (Streitaxe) close to the river of Eiterå
Eiterå (Rana in Norway)
Eiterå [ei`terå] , also called Eiteråga [e`iterå:ga], is the name of both a river and a small village in Dunderlandsdal, 7 km north of Storforshei, in Rana municipality, Norway. European route E6 pass through the small village....
. The axe was delivered to the Cultural Department of Rana Museum on July 1, 2004.
This is the first discovery of the battle axe culture
Corded Ware culture
The Corded Ware culture , alternatively characterized as the Battle Axe culture or Single Grave culture, is an enormous European archaeological horizon that begins in the late Neolithic , flourishes through the Copper Age and culminates in the early Bronze Age.Corded Ware culture is associated with...
in inner parts of North Norway. In 1913, a 20 cm long axe from the same cultural horizon was discovered on Brattland in Utskarpen
Utskarpen
Utskarpen is a village located 37 km from Mo i Rana in the Rana municipality, on the coast of Helgeland in Nordland county in northern Norway. The village center is located at the head of the Utskarpen Fjord which is part of Ranfjord. Highway 12 passes through the village.Utskarpen has a...
.
The axe is a «boat-axe» of Swedish-Norwegian type from 2800−2400 BC. It was no functional tool, but a dignity symbol of worthiness and a high social class. It may have belonged to a local chieftain.
The stripe on the backside of the axe resembles an edge from moulding, and is an imitation of moulded axes in bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
from Skåne or Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. According to the geologist Barbara Prisemann (Department of Natural history, Rana museum), the axe is made from the rock type
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
green shale.
Cultural significance
For the SámiSami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
the valley has a special symbolic value due to a tragic incident that occurred about one hundred years ago. In the early 1900s a bus returning from a Sámi conference in Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
drove off the road and crashed into the river at the bottom of the valley. Most of the people aboard the bus died, and thus the South Sámi lost most of their political leaders in one single blow. There is a memorial on the site where the bus ran off the road, somewhat hidden in the forest but accessible from the road by a small stairway.