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The colorful houses of Longyearbyen, Svalbard

At 78 degrees north, Longyearbyen is the world’s northernmost permanently inhabited community. Rather than some remote outpost, the town of just over 2,000 people is surprisingly normal, with a supermarket, bars, church, cinema, school, and even a municipal swimming pool. For four months, the sun forgets this isolated frontier. By moonlight, the icy fjords and vast glaciers that surround the capital of Longyearbyen are illuminated by a bluish, ethereal glow. But during periods of snow and rain, the sky falls remorselessly black.

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Uploaded on October 27, 2023
Taken on March 28, 2020