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Ittoqqortoormiit (; ), formerly known as Scoresbysund, is a settlement in 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 in eastern
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 ...
. Its population was 345 as of 2020, and it has been described as one of the most remote settlements on Earth. The former name Scoresbysund derives from the English Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby, who was the first European to map the area in 1822. The name "Ittoqqortoormiit" means "big house dwellers" in the Eastern Greenlandic dialect. The region is known for its wildlife, including
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
s, muskoxen, and seals.


Geography

Ittoqqortoormiit is located on
Liverpool Land Liverpool Land is a peninsula in eastern Greenland. Geography The peninsula is bounded by Scoresby Sund in the south, Carlsberg Fjord in the northwest, '' Kangerterajiva'' (Hurry Inlet) in the southwest, the Greenland Sea in the east, and ...
, east of Hurry Inlet near the mouth of the northern shore of the Kangertittivaq fjord, which empties into the Greenland Sea. The time zone in Ittoqqortoormiit is UTC-02:00, the same as most of Greenland's population. Until March 2024 it had previously been one hour ahead of most of Greenland.


History

Ittoqqortoormiit was founded in 1925 by
Ejnar Mikkelsen Ejnar Mikkelsen (23 December 1880 – 1 May 1971) was a Danish polar explorer and writer. He is most known for his expeditions to Greenland. Biography Mikkelsen was born on 23 December 1880, in Brønderslev, Vester Brønderslev, Jutland, th ...
and some 80
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
settlers (70 persons from Tasiilaq and four families from western Greenland). They were brought on the ship ''Gustav Holm'' and settled south of the last known Inuit settlement in northeastern Greenland ( Eskimonæs at Dødemandsbugten on the south coast of Clavering Ø, southwest of later Daneborg, 1823). The settlement was encouraged by the colonial power
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
which at the time had a growing interest in Northeast Greenland. At the same time, the
colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
was intended to improve declining living conditions in Tasiilaq, from where the settlers were more or less voluntarily transferred. The settlers soon prospered on the good hunting conditions of the new area, which was rich in seals,
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...
es,
narwhal The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus ''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a ...
s,
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
s and
Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...
es. Before that, the area itself had been home to a dense population of Inuit in the past, as testified by ruins and other archeological remains. Ittoqqortoormiit Municipality was a former municipality of Greenland. It is now part of Sermersooq Municipality. Starting October 30, 2023, the area was moved from East Greenland Time to West Greenland Time, one hour ahead.


Economy

Local hunters have made a living from whale and
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
hunting for generations, and it remains, up to the present, a significant cultural-economical factor in the area. Meat and by-products play a direct part in the economy of the hunting families. Income is gained by trading these products, but these options are seasonal and variable. Ittoqqortoormiit lies near large populations of
shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...
and Greenland halibut, but the presence of
sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. Much of the world' ...
prevents the exploitation of these resources year-round, and as a result fishing has never been extensively developed in the municipality. Tourism, on the other hand, is growing in importance because it is of interest to researchers and extreme Arctic expeditions on land and by sea. Ittoqqortoormiit is the closest town in Greenland from Iceland and its ecosystem, hunting culture and remoteness are of interest to a growing number of travelers primarily from Europe. A local company, Nanu Travel, owns the only guest house in the settlement and arranges tours and expedition logistics for visitors. The Guest House was featured in the hotels.com #RemoteAF campaign in 2018 because of its status as one of the most remote hotels on earth. The buildings at the abandoned Uunarteq settlement, also known as Kap Tobin, south of Ittoqqortoormiit, are used for various purposes all year by the inhabitants of Ittoqqortoormiit.


Transport

Ittoqqortoormiit is one of the most remote towns in Greenland. It is served by Ittoqqortoormiit Heliport, with
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 ...
helicopters shuttling passengers between the settlement and Nerlerit Inaat Airport ( distance), with boat transfer also possible for a few months a year. Norlandair operates two weekly flights from Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport to Nerlerit Inaat. As of 2022, Air Greenland no longer had weekly flights from Kangerlussuaq and
Nuuk Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
.


Climate

Ittoqqortoormiit features a
tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''ET'') with cold winters, chilly summers and no monthly average close to the threshold that would allow tree growth. It has an average annual temperature of . In the afternoon of 22 February 2005, the time of year that is normally the coldest, the temperature in the village briefly reached
Decoded synop reports
due to a combination of exceptionally warm airmasses and a strong foehn effect. This is only different from the all-time record high and surpasses the record high of September, the fourth-warmest month.


Population

The population of Ittoqqortoormiit has fluctuated over the past three decades, decreasing about 35% since 2006. Ittoqqortoormiit population dynamics. 1991–2020. ''Source:
Statistics Greenland Statistics Greenland (, ) is a central statistical organization in Greenland, operating under the auspices of the Government of Greenland, working in cooperation with the Ministry for Finance. Based in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, the organiza ...
''


International relations

Ittoqqortoormiit is twinned with: *
Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...


References

{{Authority control Populated places in Greenland Populated places established in 1925 Populated places of Arctic Greenland Scoresby Sound 1925 establishments in North America 20th-century establishments in Greenland