Kiatassuaq Island (old spelling: ''Kiatagssuaq'', da, Holm Ø, Holm Island) is an uninhabited

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the northern

Upernavik Archipelago Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at ...

in Avannaata 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 i ...

. It marks the southern border of

Melville Bay Melville Bay ( kl, Qimusseriarsuaq; da, Melville Bugt), is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, ''Qimusseriarsu ...

History

The name of the island means "''a large torso''" in the Greenlandic language. Initially, before the northbound migration phase of the 1920s, the island was named differently: "''Nuussuaq Ungalleq''", or ''the farther large point'', in reference to

Nuussuaq Peninsula Nuussuaq Peninsula (, old spelling: ''Nûgssuaq'') is a large (180x48 km) peninsula in western Greenland. Geography The waters around the peninsula are that of Baffin Bay. To the south and southwest the peninsula is bounded by Disko Bay, ...

and

Nuussuaq Nuussuaq (old spelling: ''Nûgssuaq''), formerly Kraulshavn, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the only mainland settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located near the western tip of the Nuussuaq Penin ...

settlement some 45 kilometers to the south, with both names translating as "''large tip''". Its Danish name 'Holm Ø' ('Holm Island') had been given in honour of officer of the

Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). Oth ...

and Arctic explorer Gustav Holm (1849 – 1940).

Geography

Located in the southern part of Melville Bay, Kiatassuaq Island has an elongated shape, with an east–west orientation. It has an area of , with a shoreline of .

Kullorsuaq Kullorsuaq (, old spelling: ''Kuvdlorssuaq'') is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the northernmost settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located on Kullorsuaq Island at the southern end of Melville Bay ...

is the closest settlement to Kiatassuaq Island, located on an island of the same name, to the north. Kiatassuaq Island is accessible only by boat. The island is separated from the

Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula (old spelling: ''Sáningassorssuaq'') is a mainland peninsula in northwestern Greenland, located at the northern end of Upernavik Archipelago.''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, 1:250.000, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Geograph ...

on the mainland of Greenland by the

Ikerasaa Strait Ikerasaa Strait (old spelling: ''Ikerasâ'') is a strait in the Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The strait separates Kiatassuaq Island in the north from the mainland Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula in the s ...

.''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 The strait is split into two channels, with the small Millissua Island straddling the middle. In the northeast, the

Alison Bay Alison Bay ( kl, Kullorsuup Kangerlua) is a bay in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The bay is a tributary bay of Melville Bay, and is located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago, between Kiatassuaq Island in the southw ...

separates the island from the

Wandel Land Wandel Land is a nunatak ( kl, nunataq) in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of several nunataks in the Melville Bay region of Greenland, where the Greenland ice sheet ( kl, Sermersuaq) drains into the bay alongside i ...

nunatak. In the north, the

Saqqarlersuup Sullua Saqqarlersuup Sullua (old spelling: ''Sarqardlersûp Suvdlua'') is a strait in the Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography The strait is long and less than wide. Located in the northern part of ...

separates the island from the smaller, rocky

Saqqarlersuaq Island Saqqarlersuaq Island (old spelling: ''Sarqardlerssuaq'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Part of the Upernavik Archipelago, Saqqarlersuaq Island is located in the southern part of Melville Bay. Geog ...

and

Kullorsuaq Island Kullorsuaq Island (old spelling: ''Kuvdlorssuaq'') is an island in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The name of the island means "''a big thumb''" in the Greenlandic language. Geography Part of the Upernavik Archipelago, ...

Coastline

The coastline of the island is generally undeveloped, with small inlets only in its eastern end, near the Ikerasaa Strait and the sibling Milissua Island.

Promontories

Although the southern boundary of

is arbitrary, it is

Wilcox Head Wilcox Head is a cape in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography The cape is the western promontory on Kiatassuaq Island,''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 delimiting the southern end of Melville Bay, ...

, the western cape of Kiatassuaq Island, which is the most commonly referred to as the southern limit of the bay. Other definitions limit the bay to the Little Renland nunatak farther north where the coastline of mainland Greenland veers to the northwest, or expand it southwards to

, on the other side of

Inussulik Bay Inussulik Bay ( kl, Inussullip Imaa, old spelling: ''Inugsugdlip Imâ'') is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography The bay is located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago, bet ...

Lakes and mountains

There is a number of smaller mountain

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s on the island, and one larger Tasersuaq Lake at the lower, eastern end of the island. The island is very mountainous, with a glaciated ridge spanning its entire length. The highest point on the island is an unnamed peak of in the center of the island. Several other summits of the island ridge exceed , from the massif overlooking Tasersuaq Lake in the east to the bastion over the Wilcox Head promontory in the west.

References

External links

*
1:1,000,000 scale Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet B-8
{{Upernavik Archipelago Inussulik Bay Uninhabited islands of Greenland Melville Bay Islands of the Upernavik Archipelago