Pasvikdalen
{{Use dmy dates | date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox valley
| name = Pasvikdalen
| other_name = Долина реки Паз
| photo = Pine forest in Pasvikdalen.jpg
| photo_width =
| photo_caption = View of a pine forest in the valley
| map_image = {{Infobox mapframe|wikidata=yes|zoom=10|marker=natural}}
| map_caption = Interactive map of the valley
| coordinates = {{coord|69|20|00|N|29|21|14|E|type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref =
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ref =
| direction = Northeast-Southwest
| length = {{convert|150|km}}
| width =
| area =
| depth =
| type = River valley
| watercourses = Pasvikelva river
| age =
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| towns =
| traversed =
}}
Pasvikdalen ({{langx|ru|Долина реки Паз}}) is a valley in Norway and Russia. The Norwegian side of the valley belongs to Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county and the Russian side is located in the Pechengsky District in Murmansk Oblast. The valley contains large areas of pine forests, and more than {{convert|100|km2}}) of the valley is included inside the Øvre Pasvik National Park in Norway (in the southern part of the valley). The Øvre Pasvik Landscape Protection Area is also located in the valley, outside of the park.
File:Russia-Norway-Finland border.jpg marks the intersection of the Norway–Russia border, the Finland–Norway border and the Finland–Russia border.]]
The valley was traditionally inhabited by Sami people. The river Pasvikelva runs through the valley (giving it the name) and the river defines part of the Norway–Russia border. The southern part of the valley is also the location of the Treriksrøysa, the point where the borders of Norway, Finland, and Russia meet.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Pasvikdalen |first= |last= |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |editor-last=Godal | editor-first=Anne Marit | editor-link=Anne Marit Godal |publisher=Norsk nettleksikon |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Pasvikdalen |language=Norwegian|accessdate=28 August 2012}}
History
The middle of the 1930s on the Norwegian side of the valley, was "a time with homesteading and colonization of the valley, as part of a political desire to mark Norwegian sovereignty in the area. To make the valley attractive as a tourist destination, an observation tower was erected at the highest point of the area, 96 meters above sea level. At the top of the tower [on "hill 96"] there was a restaurant run by ["Sør-Varanger tourist association"] Sør-Varanger turistforening".{{Cite web|url=http://www.riksantikvaren.no/Aktuelt/Maanedens-kulturminne/96-Hoeyden-fra-kald-krig-til-varme-vafler|title=96 Høyden fra kald krig til varme vafler|url-status=dead|date=17 December 2019|access-date=2 January 2017|archive-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094112/http://www.riksantikvaren.no/Aktuelt/Maanedens-kulturminne/96-Hoeyden-fra-kald-krig-til-varme-vafler}}
=1968 border incident=
In the early hours of 7 June 1968, the three soldiers who were at the (Norwegian) border observation tower at ["hill 96"] 96-høyden outside Svanvik (Norway) (no), observed that 14 Soviet tanks simultaneously were pointing their barrels at Norwegian border observation posts when some of the tanks opened fire—apparently with blanks; the staging of tanks near the border was against Soviet—Norwegian treaties, because no advance notification has occurred; along the Soviet-Norwegian border the Soviets mobilized one infantry division supported by paratroopers and warplanes, including 70 T-54 tanks and 400 other vehicles with sights pointed at Norwegian targets.{{Dubious|date=January 2023|reason=Visibly incomplete story with reference in Norwegian only.}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrk.no/dokumentar/xl/hemmelige-rom-ii_-episode-5-1.12945607|title = Tårnvakten|date = 2 January 2017}}