Kangerlussuaq Icefjord (old spelling: ''Kangerdlugssuaq'', da, Giesecke Isfjord) is a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...
in
Avannaata
Avannaata (, da, Det Nordlige, lit=The Northern) is a municipality of Greenland created on 1 January 2018 from the bulk of the former Qaasuitsup municipality. It encompasses an area of 522,700 km2 and has 10,726 inhabitants.
Geography
In ...
municipality in northwestern
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 ...
.
Geography
The long fjord flows to the northwest between the mainland of Greenland in the northeast, and a chain of islands in the southwest:
Aukarnersuaq Island
Aukarnersuaq Island (old spelling: ''Aukarnerssuaq'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Geography
Aukernersuaq Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, ...
,
Anarusuk Island
Anarusuk Island is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Geography
Anarusuk Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the shores of the inner reaches of Kan ...
,
Nuuluk Island
Nuuluk Island (old spelling: ''Nûluk'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Geography
Nuuluk Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the shores of th ...
,
Qallunaat Island, and
Tuttorqortooq Island.
The fjord head is located at , where the southern tongue of
Giesecke Glacier
Giesecke Glacier ( da, Giesecke brær) is a glacier in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Its outflow is split in the center by a nunatak. Through two tongues it drains the Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet ( da, Grø ...
, named ( kl, Kakiffait Sermiat), reaches the fjord. The fjord mouth is located in the northernmost part of
Tasiusaq Bay
Tasiusaq Bay (old spelling: ''Tasiussaq'') is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentation of northeastern Baffin Bay. The name of the bay derives from the name of the settlem ...
, between Tuttorqortooq Island in the southwest and
Mernoq Island in the north.
[''Upernavik'', Saga Map, 1:250.000, Tage Schjøtt, 1992]
Qaaneq Fjord
The innermost portion of the fjord bears a different name: ''Qaaneq'' (old spelling: ''Qâneq''). It is an inner extension of Kangerlussuaq Icefjord, with the flow from one to the other disrupted by the Kakiffait Sermiat glacier tongue. If the length of both fjords were to be combined, the total length of Kangerlussuaq Icefjord would reach . The head of Qaaneq Fjord is located at , situated between two
nunatak
A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ''nunataq'') is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural p ...
s on the mainland of Greenland, bounding it from the north and from the southwest.
See also
*
List of fjords of Greenland
This is a list of the most important fjords of Greenland:In Northern Greenland, a large area made up entirely of fjords; therefore Peary Land above not a fjord but a fjord area.In Northeastern Greenland, a large area made up entirely of fjo ...
References
External links
1:1,000,000 scale Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet B-8
Tasiusaq Bay
Fjords of the Upernavik Archipelago
{{Greenland-fjord-stub