Disko Island ( kl, Qeqertarsuaq, da, Diskoøen) is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

. It has an area of ,Norwegian University of Science and Technology
making it the second largest of Greenland after the main island and one of the 100 largest islands in the world.

Etymology

The name means ''The Large Island'' (from = island).

Geography

The island has a length of about , rising to an average height of , peaking at . The port of

Qeqertarsuaq Qeqertarsuaq () is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Statio ...

(named after the island, and also known as Godhavn) lies on its southern coast. Blæsedalen valley is north of Qeqertarsuaq. The island is separated from Nuussuaq Peninsula in the northeast by the

Sullorsuaq Strait Sullorsuaq Strait (old spelling: ''Suvdlorssuaq'', da, Vaigat) is a strait on the western coast of Greenland. Geography The strait separates Nuussuaq Peninsula in the northeast from Qeqertarsuaq Island in the southwest. The strait waterway ...

. To the south of the island lies Disko Bay, an inlet bay of Baffin Bay.''Nuussuaq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992

History

Erik the Red paid the first recorded visit to Disko Island at some time between 982 and 985; the island was used as a base for summer hunting and fishing by Norse colonists.

Geology

Native terrestrial iron from the Tertiary of Greenland

Mineral deposits, fossil finds and geological formations add to interest in the area. One of the interesting geological features is the native iron found at the island. A 22-ton (44,000 lbs; 20 tonnes) lump mixture of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

and iron carbide ( cohenite) has been found. There are only a few places on earth where native iron is found which is not of meteoric origin. There are numerous hot springs on the island. The microscopic animal '' Limnognathia'', the only known member of its phylum, was discovered in the Isunngua spring.

Biodiversity

Several studies on the meiofauna show high marine interstitial diversity in Disko Island. For instance, the gastrotrich species '' Diuronotus aspetos'' is found in Iterdla and Kigdlugssaitsut and is so far reported only in Disko Island. It is associated with a rich diversity of other gastrotrichs like '' Chaetonotus atrox'', '' Halichaetonotus'' sp., '' Mesodasys'' sp., '' Paradasys'' sp., '' Tetranchyroderma'' sp., '' Thaumastoderma'' sp. and '' Turbanella'' sp.

References

{{Authority control Islands of Baffin Bay Disko Bay Islands of Greenland