Alanngorsuaq Fjord, also known as Coppermine Bay (), is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in the

Kujalleq Kujalleq (Greenlandic language, Greenlandic: , ) is a municipality on the southern tip of Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The administrative center of the municipality is in Qaqortoq (formerly called Julianehåb). Creation The munic ...

municipality in southern

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. At the mouth of the fjord the coastline of southwestern Greenland turns to the east towards

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...

Geography

Alanngorsuaq Fjord opens towards the west a few miles north of

Cape Desolation Cape Desolation (, ), also known as 'Cape Brill', is a headland in southwest Greenland in the Kujalleq municipality. Geography The cape is located 16.66 km to the west-north-west of Cape Thorvaldsen near the modern settlements of Arsuk and Ivit ...

. The Inner Kitsissut islands lie on the southern side of the mouth of the bay. The fjord is long,Norwegian University of Science and Technology
with an east-north-east − west-south-west orientation, opening into the

Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea (; ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffi ...

. There are several oblong, uninhabited islands in the inner part of the fjord, its mouth widening into a bay at the confluence with the Labrador Sea at approximately . File:Alanngorsuaq-fjordmouth-labrador-sea-iceberg.jpg, An

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an i ...

floating at the mouth of the fjord; southern end File:Alanngorsuaq-fjord-mouth.jpg, The mouth of Alanngorsuaq Fjord; northern end

Settlement

The shores of the fjord are uninhabited.

Arsuk Arsuk is a village in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It had 73 inhabitants in 2020. The name of the settlement means ''the beloved place'' in the Greenlandic language.

is the closest settlement, located just beyond the border with the

Sermersooq Sermersooq () is a municipality in Greenland, formed on 1 January 2009 from five previous, smaller municipalities. Its administrative seat is the city of Nuuk (formerly called Godthåb), the capital of Greenland, and it is the most populous ...

municipality, approximately to the north of the fjord mouth. The fjord marked the southern limit of the former Frederikshåb District, now

Paamiut Paamiut, also known as Frederikshåb, is a town in southwestern Greenland in the Sermersooq municipalities of Greenland, municipality. Geography Paamiut is located on the coast of Labrador Sea in the southern end of a small estuary called Ku ...

. It was named 'Coppermine Bay' after a pioneer mining operation in Southwestern Greenland at the beginning of the 20th century.The History of the Josva copper mine in Greenland, 1905-14
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References

External links

*{{commons category-inline
Explanatory notes to the Geological map of Greenland1:1,000,000 scale Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet B-8, 3rd edition
Fjords of Greenland

Geography

Settlement

See also

References

External links