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Greenland - Another WorldPart I
Kalaallit Nunaat means "the humans’ land”. The inuits call themselves Kalaallit.
Most Greenlanders have both Kalaallit (Inuit) and Scandinavian ancestry.Greenland became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953.
All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population (60 000) being concentrated along the West and South coast.
Official Name:Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat )
Capital: Nuuk (Godthab)
Government Type:Self-governing administrative division of the Kingdom of Denmark
Greenland, the world's largest island, is a self governed province under the rule of Denmark.
The island lies between North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Greenland's total area is 2 166 square kilometers.
The island has 44 087 kilometers of coastline. The lowest point of the island is 0 meters and the highest point is 3700 meters.
Qaanaaq
Kangerlussuaq airport, the international connection, on the southwest coast.
Disembarking at Kangerlussauq airport , on the West coast, 50 Km North of the Arctic Circle
Air Greenland’s helicopter fleet does most of the connection flights.
Taking off from the ice sheet
1The nature Ice cap and Glaciers
The Greenland Ice Cap or Ice Sheet is a vast body of ice covering roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the World, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
The towns and villages where most of the inhabitants live are situated in the rocky coast, and mainly in small portions of fertile land of the west and south.
The Greenland Ice Sheet extends from 60º to 80º N, and covers an area of 1.7 million square km. With an average thickness of 2000 m, it has a total volume of about 3 million cubic km – roughly equivalent to a sea-level rise of 7 m.
It comprises a northern dome and a southern dome, with maximum surface elevations of approximately 3200 m and 2850 m respectively, linked by a long saddle with elevations around 2500 m.
The Ice Cap
Northeastern view of the ice cap.
Nunataks (ice-free summits ) in East Greenland. A Nunatak is an exposed peak, not covered with ice or snow, in an ice field or glacier. Nunataks are reference points in glaciers or ice caps.
As the ice cap recedes, strange rock formations are visible. These are more typical of the northeast coast.
The ice cap rises in some mountainous regions to 3000 m peaks.
Gunnbjørn Fjeld, peaking at 3733 m, is Greenland's highest mountain: on the east coast ,south of Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund) - a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice. Location 68° 55′ N 29° 54′ W
Gunnbjørn Fjeld is a nunatak.
The thickness is generally more than 2 km.
Supra-glacial lake on Helheim glacier. Greenland's Ice Sheet is undergoing massive changes, including melted ice streams on the surface and pools of melted water, increasing in size at an unprecedented rate .
The ice cap feeds glaciers that run into fjords and form icebergs
There are thousands of glaciers in Greenland, running east or west from the ice cap into the sea. Flying over the island, endless glaciers are easily spot.
In the past few years, the glaciers of Greenland have been receding. Normally icebergs are calved from the feet of these glaciers all summer long.
Glacier highway
It is difficult to appreciate the scale of a glacier. This one is about 2 Km wide. When you see a distinct medial moraine like on the middle of this glacier, it shows that it has been formed by two glaciers merging further up the valley. Greenland has some of the fastest moving glaciers, up to 35 m a day.
The Knud Rasmussen glacier, on the east coast .The peak on the left is 1400 metres high, the glacier is 2000 metres wide then the height of the glacier is about 50 metres. This is on the Sermiligaq fjord, just north of Kulusuk.
Because of some violent calving, this glacier is not safe to approach. At some 300 m, fearful rumbles, growls and thunderous roars warn caution.
Taterat glacier
Fed directly from the Sukkertoppen (Sugar Loaf) ice pack, which is an extension of the central ice cap.
The weight of the ice has depressed the center of Greenland so that if the ice were to melt, Greenland would appear as a ring of mountains surrounding a new sea.
Kangingussa glacier feeding Kangerlussuaq fjord.
175 km long, the Kangerlussuaq is one of the world’s longest fjords. The Danes call it Sondre Stromfjord.Fjords are left by the retreat of a glacier that has carved a U-shaped valley to below the sea level.
Suggar Loaf, Kangerlussuaq.The glaciers are still carving Kangerlussuaq fjord.
Eqi GlacierSunrise over the Eqi Glacier. With the clearing skies comes extreme cold, you might notice the sea below the strip of land at the bottom left, ice is forming.All around there are icebergs.
A terrace with a view of the glacier plus a café hut that houses Café Victor
The Eqi Glacier is about 80 km (5 hours by boat) North of Ilulissat.
The Eqi is about 100 m high and 1 km wide
Eqi glacier calving – rather smoothly.
Ice fall air view
The Triplets mountains rises 2.000 meters about sea level in Eastgreenland and can only be reached by helicopter or experienced mountaineers.
Tasermiut fjord in southern Greenland, extending northeasterly to the inland ice cap. It is 70 km long.
Early July at the Ilulissat icefjord around midnight. Even when the nearby village of Ilulissat
is warm, the ice has an aircon effect and keeps the fjord cold.
Icebergs are all around the coast…
Lots of arches…
( Icebergs calved from the glacier at Disko Bay, Ilulissat)
Fabulous shapes…
Wonderful blues…
And nice sailing through ! Red contrasting white against the deep blue…
Qooroq Ice Fjord, Narsarsuaq
2Greenland Fauna
Polar bears, called Nanoq by the Inuit, are the world's largest land predators. Northern Greenland is polar bear country, but the possibility that you will sight any is extremely low.
The coat of arms of Greenland is a blue shield featuring a silver polar bear.
The North areas of Qaanaaq and Sation Nord are the most visisted by polar bears.
The Musk Ox
All year round in the Kangerlussuaq area live approx. 4 000 musk oxen.
The musk ox is a truly artic animal. It lives only in Greenland , North Canada and Alaska
Greenlandic reindeerThere are good chances of
seeing reindeer on a hike in the Greenlandic fells, in particular in the area around Uummannaq.
Arctic fox, white and grey
Arctic hares
Bearded seal
The artic wolfArctic Wolf
Whale A Whale in a dive "shot" on Greenlands westcoast. It´s a Bowhead Whale also known as
the Greenland Whale.
The Narwhal, a “unicorn” whale. Most of the population occurs in the eastern Canadian Arctic and west Greenland.
Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandica)
Earless seal native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean.
Gyrfalcon, the largest of all falcon species.
Fulmar Northern Fulmar, not a kind of seagull but more related to ducks and penguins.
Puffins
Greelandish dogs.
Anyhow:1 You WILL give blood in Greenland: Sisimiut, Kangerlussuaq, Ilulissat are hell !2 They say mosquitoes are the one and only Royal Air Force of Greenland: they
are stealth bombers , silent!3 Avoid tundra and wetland. In the icecap there are none.4 Avoid Summer.
BEWARE OF MOSQUITOES !
The Arctic is plagued by these insects in July and August. They are almost enough to drive a person insane. Superbly adapted to the Arctic, they don’t whine like their more southerly cousins .
Protection includes mosquito head net, insect repellent containing Deet , and anti-histamine tablets like Triludan..
Trees in Greenland:Only planted, seeds don´t grow.
Trees in Qanasiassat Pine (Pinus sylvestris) imported from Norway
Felt-leaf willow (Salix alaxensis), planted 1995 - the proud owner in front.
FloraNiviarsiaq, ‘little girl’ in Inuit, is Greenland’s national flower, to be found all around in spring
See “The Valley of flowers” for more.
3The towns
The 60 000 greenlandic inhabitants live in coastal towns and villages, and in small portions of fertile land of the south.About 20% of the inhabitants are non-inuit, mostly from Europe.
“Ultima Thule”The farthest north
Qaanaaq Thule Air Base (ex - Avannaa )
Welcome to QaanaaqHotel Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq (pop. 650) is Greenland's most northern town. It can be reached only by helicopter from Thule Air Base in about 45 minutes.
Qaanaaq, at more than 77 º north, represents one of the last frontiers and the ideal base for polar expeditions in the wild ice cap. From Europe, Qaanaaq can be reached only after a very long flight, with overnight stop at Ilulissat. North America is a shorter distance away.
Temperature often falls to – 30 º.The sea in front of the city is frozen most of the year as far as the eye can see,
Qaanaaq’s symbol, a narwhal and a North Star.
Qaanaaq is also the world´s northernmost municipality. The original Thule settlement (named so by Knud Rasmussen – the inuit name was Avannaa ) was forced to move further north to give room for the American Thule Air Base, in 1953.
Remote and primitive, sparsely populated and lacking many of the comforts of civilization …
Standard kit greenlandic house.
Inhabitants, a little over 600, are mainly hunters. They hunt by boat during the summer period and by dogsled in the winter, mainly seals, narwhals, sharks (for dog food) and fish (halibut).
Inuit woman stretches a
sealskin on a frame, to dry
Dried halibut for feeding dogs.
No other place in the arctic is it possible to find “Kayak men” hunting seal, whale and walrus with hand-thrown harpoons from an original Eskimo kayak. Here, the hunter controls his harpoon.
This harpoon is placed on the kayak, prepared for the Narwhale hunt.
Life in Qaanaaq is hard due to isolation, few resources and lack of commodities. The inuits never got used to relocation, and complaint of worse conditions (cold, less hunt…) then before, in Avannaa.
Inuit boy in Polar bear pants
Seal skin boots
Seal hunting is the most important source of income for a large part of the population.
Hunters leaving Qaanaaq with their dog teams.
Inuit hunter in fox skin jacket and polar bear pants.
Inuit hunter jumps a lead in summer sea ice. His huskies will follow.
Bear paw prints on the ice
An iceberg in the Northwest
Touchdown of skier plane at Thule airport, an U.S. air base. The Base is equipped with 2 runways of 3,00 km, 7 avenues, 19 streets, a 376 m. radio tower, telecommunications center, power plants, hospital, tennis courts, swimming pools, laundries, cinemas…a city´s facilities for some 8000 US army personnel !
Wolstenholme fjord, the Thule Air Base, the Glaciers
Thule A.B., glaciers and mount Dundas.Wolstenholme fjord , the only place on earth where 3 glaciers join together ! ( the Knud Rasmussen at far right ).
Hart Glacier
Aerial view of glacier near Thule A.B.
The old settlement Avannaa and the cemetery, at the base of the Inuit sacred Dundas Mountain
An elderly Qaanaaq Inuit drum singer using a traditional drum. Only the rithm is hit.
The house of Knud Rasmussen, built at the foot of Dundas Mountain in the beginning of last century, when he established the legendary Thule trading station. This house was later moved to Qaanaaq, where it now serves as the museum.
http://www.geocities.com/thetropics/resort/9292/usavaner.html
Arctic shades made from bone.
This meteorite, which is almost completely metallic (about 97% metal) was for a long time the only source of metal for the Inuit.
Thule Meteor,Qaanaaq museum.
A 48 kg meteorite found in 1955 in a nunatak east of Thule A.B.
The North West
Upernavik Uummannaq Ilulissat
A ferry (shade on ice) approaches Upernavik, small town on the far Northwest coast of Greenland..
Upernavik
This village, at 72º latitude, is the northernmost port of call on coastal ferries. Houses are painted in bright rainbow colours that are lacking in the surrounding landscape, in this case red, yellow and green.
The town was founded in 1772 as a Danish colonial station
The new church of Upernavik
During the summer months you can see the midnight sun, and the town’s remote location makes it a destination for an unique experience.
Approximately 1100 live here. Air Greenland operates air services to Upernavik.
The local radio station
Hotel Upernavik
The old church, now part of the museum.
The museum buildings.
In 1824, a Viking Runestone was found outside Upernavik. It bears runic characters left by Vikings, probably from the late 13th century.This is the furthest north that any Viking artifacts have been found .
First day in class.
Upernavik choir in traditional clothes.
Disko Bay is one of the most busy and populated areas of Greenland. Two magnificent towns are situated here: Uummannaq and Ilulissat.
Sunrise in Disko bay
The harbour seen as the ferry boat is leaving at low light. Uummannaq is the "real" Greenland: a majestic and harsh landscape with tall mountains, rare vegetation, many glaciers and icebergs. It is dominated by the Heart Mountain, which has given the town its greenlandic name, meaning "The Heart Shaped".
Uummannaq
Situated in the magnificent Disko Bay, it’s one of Greenland's northernmost municipalities. 2800 people live here.
House with a view
The Hospital
The church isn't very old (1935) but it is an unusual design for Greenland and was built from local granite.
According to the greenlandic tradition, Santa Claus lives in Greenland, where he has built his Royal Castle, in the traditional Greenlandic style, near the town of Uummannaq - 1 hour's walk away from the town .
The house is built from blocks of turf, but unlike traditional homes, this has a green-painted wooden porch and windows.
Santa´s sledge
Santa’s huge postbox
Hotel Uummannaq
View from Uummannaq hotel.
Uummannaq aerial view, in winter.
Qasigiannguit, Disko bay (pop. 1 300)
Qasigiannguit (Christianshåb) is a small comunity located at the shores of Disko Bay, with warm summers (up to 27º Celsius).
http://www.museum.gl/qasigiannguit/uk/saqqaa/index.htm
1752 building
1734 buildingQasigiannguit museum
Oldest house in Greenland (1734)
Ilulissat
• Town of the giant icebergs • Home of the UNESCO designated Ilulissat Ice Fiord. • The third biggest town in Greenland.
Ilulissat, with about 5000 people and 6000 dogs, is located halfway up the country's west coast, about 350 km north of the arctic circle . Here you see the church and the museum.
The church and the Hospital, at right
Ilulissat , daily life down in the harbour. Fishing halibut is the citys main industry, followed by tourism.
Gulls gather around a fishing boat as the crew clean their catch.
Fisherman mending his nets in the harbour
Houses and icebergs and sled dogs.
Downtown in a winter sunny day
Dogs outnumber people in Ilullissat, one of the main centers for dog sledge tours.
Dog puppies are cute but get less friendly as they grow.
Itinerary for the dogsledge tour out of Ilulissat.
Ilulissat
Glacier
A breathtaking panorama of snow, ice and glaciers.
Eqi Glacier, 80 km north of Ilulissat A cruise north aboard a small ship takes to the remote wilderness surrounding Ice Camp Eqi, situated right in front of the calving Glacier.
Ice Camp Eqi and Café Victor
A glacier you can approach
Hotel Arctic in Ilulissat with a good view to the icefjord.
Table overlooking Disko Bay.
At night a surreal midnight sun bathes outside dinner tables.
Hotel Arctic also offers accomodation in comfortable metal igloos !
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen was born in Illulissat. Rasmussen was a polar explorer and the first to cross the Northwest Passage in dog sled, his base being named Thule after an ancient mith. He remains well known in Greenland.
The Rasmussen museum in Ilulissat.
Rasmussen Museum
The Zion church at Ilulissat
The town church, was built in 1782, and was paid in full by a collection among the locals.
The church is beautifully located by the sea.
Ilulissat café, Iluliaq
Pisiffik, the largest supemarket in town
Two Inuit women pulling children on sleds through the centre of Ilulissat
H8
The restaurant H8 at the hamlet of Rodebay 20km from Ilulissat .
Whale meat, salmon, halibut, dried cod, shrimps, cheese, fish filets…
The small village of Rodebay was founded by Dutch whalers.
The transportation system in Greenland is very unusual : no railways and no roads. There is a total of 150 km roads in the entire country. The major means of transportation have been by boat up and down the coasts. The arrival of a boat with supplies is allways an important happening –weekly, monthly or yearly...
The Umiaq Line ferry leaving Ilulissat.
Midnight in Illulissat
New Year’s eve fireworks – a celebration greenlanders never miss.
The Ilulissat Icefjord is the sea mouth of Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea.
It runs west 40 kilometres from the Jakobshavn glacier to the sea in Disko bay.
In 2004, UNESCO put the Ilulissat Icefjord on the World Heritage List under the sections "Earth's History and Geological Features" and "Superlative natural phenomena, scenic beauty".
Ilulissat glacier Sermeq Kujalleq
The glacier before reaching the fjord
You can see the icebergs forming !
One of the worlds most productive and fast moving glaciers - Sermeq Kujalleq or Kangia .
NWF Global Warming in Greenlandvideo at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjsoXlZjUfQ
Ilulissat Icefjord
Illulissat = Iceberg in Gronelandic.
The Isfjord wall - airview
The Great Doors of Disko Bay…
Fishing through icebergs
Ice skyscrapers – a rare view
Midnight tour
Illulissat fjord at midnight.
Sermermiut fjord , 2 Km from Ilulissat – ice and flowers in Spring.
Ice and flowers - that’s Greenland !
Ancient Eskimo settlement Sermermiut• The Sermermiut valley, half an hour walk from Ilulissat, is a unique
archaeological area. Excavations proved that Greenland has been inhabitated from pre-historic times, from at least about 2500 B.C. !
• The Saqqaq culture is the archaeological designation of the earliest Palaeo-Eskimo culture of West and Southeast Greenland. The time frame is roughly 2.500 BC - 800 BC.
• In Sermermiut valley one can see the remains of houses, evidence of human existence that has been here for over 4000 years.
Excavation area
A wooden church in miniature at the small village of Saqqaq (150 hbts) on a coast of Disko bay.
Another church beautifully located by the sea in Disko Bay area .
Land of contrasts:Swimming in hot spring with icebergs in the sea…There are lots of hot springs in Greenland – from 36 to 60º Celsius! – many of them in Disko Bay, others in Uunartoq island, in the south.
The West
Sisimiut Nuuk (Godthab)
This area, due to its micro-climate, has the mildest summer weather on the island, though it can get extremely cold in winter.
Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg) , the second largest city of Greenland. With about 6000 inhabitants, it’s the most northern icefree town in winter.
The town center characterized by its colonial age buildings with the old blue church, the old shop, colonial residences, an old forge.
The Colonial quarterThe town was founded in 1756 as a mission and trading station, based on whaling.. The old town is now a museum.
The Bethel blue church is Greenland’s second oldest church dating back to 1775.
The new church, built in 1926 and extended in 1984
The old Bethel church
The mean temperature is up to 14º C in July, down to -30º C in January-March.
Sisimiut is situated between hillsides, and the small houses are built on hills.It is also the northernmost limit of winter navigation by sea, and the southernmost limit of winter dog sledding. South of here there are no sled dogs !
Traditional breaded costumes
School start day
The Sisimiut museum
Museum of history of civilizations,as well as a special museum of trade, shipping and industry, it is situated in an old 18th century building.
http://www.museum.gl/uk/sisimiut/
Old whaling harpoon
Sod House museumNext to the churches, this interesting house with walls more than one metre thick built of piled up sod gathered on the tundra.
A major factory, the Royal Greenland fish and shrimp plant in Sisimiut, is the largest of its kind in Greenland and one of the most modern in the world.
Royal Greenland
Thanks to the mild temperature, the harbour is opened all year, which helps trade.
Shopping center, Pisiffik stores
Pisiffik employs 700 people and has shops in major towns on the west coast.
Bakery and patisserie
Sisimiut under a wonderful midnight sun
There is a project to build a road (a ROAD !) to link Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq airport. That would be more than 160 km through many curves, but would allow Sisimiut a greater role in trade and tourism.
Nuuk – the world’s smallest capital city
It has a population of about 15 000.
Nuuk is also the oldest town in Greenland. It was founded by the missionary Hans Egede in 1728.
Nuuk has a moderate polar climate with cold, snowy winters and cool summers.Temperatures are below freezing during winter and stays cool in summer.
Nuuk´s main atractions are the cultural centre Katuaq, Greenland’s
University, the cathedral from 1849 and the National Museum.
Nuuk’s old town
Warehouse by the old harbour
Nuuk’s dome
Freisers Kirkebuilt in1849
Nuuk’s old University
The old Hospital and the Dome
Behind the Ice you see the yellow building, which use to be the old hospital . The red building is the Dome of Nuuk.
The graveyard
a) Winter
b) Summer
Dog life
No job in summer…
Conference center, art gallery, coffee shop, art school, and the Nordic Institute.
Katuaq Cultural Centre
http://www.atuagkat.com/default.asp?lang=uk
Atuagkat Bookstore's Book shop in Nuuk
Nuuk Art Museum
www.natmus.gl/
http://www.nuukkunstmuseum.gl/
http://www.natmus.gl/en/html/museumen.html
GreenlandNationalMuseum
Fine ethnographical material from Ammassalik and Thule were collected around 1880-1920. The recent colonial period is mainly represented by clothing and tools.
A wooden map
Three-dimensional maps of coastlines were carved of wood as long as three hundred years ago.
These Inuit charts were usually carved from driftwood and are made to be felt rather than looked at.
The map is a three-dimensional Ammassalik Eskimo coastal map of parts of the fjord coast of east Greenland, carved in wood
http://www.danstopicals.com/greenland.htm
Hans Egede house – the oldest in Nuuk.Egede was a missionary and the founder of Godthåb (Nuuk).
Town Bell,used to call people to meetings
Barista Web Cafe , in downtown Nuuk
Stairway up home from the waterfront
Modern Nuuk
New confortable houses
The modern quarterNew Nuuk
Queue in Nuuk
Greenland's capital has ATM cash machines and the inevitable queue, just like anywhere else.
Nuuk’s beautiful mountain Sermitsiaq
A Greenlandic national daily newspaper, published in Nuuk on Fridays, with an english limited version online :http://sermitsiaq.gl/english/It was first published in 1958.
Nuuk, kayaks under northern lights
Nuuk by night
Midnight sun
in Nuuk
Sources:Photos and text excerpts from
http://www.trekearth.comhttp://www.panoramio.com/http://www.pbase.comhttp://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/poles/kalaall.htmlhttp://www.flickr.com/http://picasaweb.google.comhttp://www.woophy.com
Selection and slideshow by Mario Ricca , 2009
Greenland – Another WorldEnd of Part I
Continues in Greenland - Another World Part II
