Ikerasak Fjord (, also Qarajaq Icefjord, or ) is a fjord in

Avannaata Avannaata (, ) 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 the south, Avannaata is flanked ...

municipality in northwestern

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 ...

Geography

The fjord constitutes the innermost part of the

Uummannaq Fjord Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Scoresby Sund, Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland. It has a roughly south-east to west-north-west orientation, emptying into the Baffin ...

at the base of

Nuussuaq Peninsula Nuussuaq Peninsula (, old spelling: ''Nûgssuaq'') is a large () 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, an inlet ...

.Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 The fjord has one tributary fjord in the north, Qaraassap Imaa, emptying into it at approximately , between Qaraasap Nunataa headland in the southeast and Drygalski Peninsula in the northwest.

Glaciers

The fjord is filled with ice calved off from the active Store Gletscher, which empties into the fjord at its innermost end, and which flows from the

Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which forms the second largest body of ice in the world. It is an average of thick and over thick at its maximum. It is almost long in a north–south direction, with a maximum width of at a latitude ...

(). It is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, moving at km per year. Uummannaq Tourist Service
/ref> Lille Gletscher is another glacial tongue, emptying into Qaraasaap Imaa.

Tributary rivers

In the south–north, several rivers flow from Nuussuaq Peninsula into Ikerasak Fjord, the larger being ''Puiaqtukassaup Kuua'' and ''Kuussuaq''. The valley of Kuussuaq is used for mountain trails traversing the peninsula. The trail begins at ''Kuussuup Nuua'' at the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the river on the shore of the fjord, leading south through the only unglaciated part of the inner mountain range on the peninsula.

Settlement

Ikerasak Ikerasak () is a village in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. It had 233 inhabitants in 2020. Geography Ikerasak is located approximately 45 km southeast from Uummannaq, at the southeastern end of Ikerasak Island in the n ...

is the only settlement in the fjord, located on an oval-shaped

Ikerasak Island Ikerasak Island () is an island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located in the southeastern part of Uummannaq Fjord, at the mouth of Ikerasak Fjord, its innermost section.Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Geography ...

in its northwestern part, where the fjord widens into the inner part of Uummannaq Fjord. Seasonal settlement on the shores of Nuussuaq Peninsula has been abandoned.

Transport

The fjord can be reached by boat or seaplane, boats being either individually chartered from Ikerasak, or as part of the organized glacier sightseeing tour from

Uummannaq Uummannaq is a town on Uummannaq Island in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Foun ...

Ikerasak Heliport Ikerasak Heliport is a heliport in Ikerasak, a village on an island of the same name in the Uummannaq Fjord system in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The heliport is considered a ''helistop'', and is served by Air Greenland ...

served by

Air Greenland Air Greenland Aktieselskab, A/S (formerly named Grønlandsfly and Greenlandair) is the flag carrier of Greenland, owned by the Naalakkersuisut, Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 28 aircraft, including a single Airbus A330-800 airli ...

is the only aerodrome in the area, with connections to Uummmannaq and Saattut.

References

Fjords of Greenland Uummannaq Fjord {{Greenland-fjord-stub