Kangerlussuaq Fjord (old spelling: ''Kangerdlugssuaq'', ) is a long

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in the

Qeqqata Qeqqata (, ) is a municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in the central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,378 as of January 2020. The administrative cente ...

municipality in central-western

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 ...

. The fjord is long and between and wide, flowing from 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 Qinnguata Kuussua river to the southwest, and emptying into the

Davis Strait The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...

. It is the longest fjord of western Greenland.

Geography

The head of the fjord is located at , at the estuary of the Qinnguata Kuussua river flowing from the Russell Glacier of 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 ...

(). The fjord mouth is located at , south of the Simiutaq Island. Another, smaller waterway connects to the sea to the north of the island.Maniitsoq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Kangerlussuaq Fjord does not have any tributary fjords, with a fairly uniform coastline. Small hills of the Kangaamiut dike swarm, such as the highlands of Tarajornitsut, dominate the coast of the inner parts of the fjord, transforming into steep mountain ranges towards the mouth. In that it is different from fjords of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, or indeed many other fjords in Greenland, the coast of which is flanked by progressively smaller mountains.

Alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s from Qinnguata Kuussua, which carries

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

from the ice sheet give rise to a distinct emerald coloring of the fjord waters for several kilometers from the fjord head.

Silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

accumulation at the estuary formed patches of

quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...

of variable size up to a kilometer into the fjord. This fjord marks the border between the two geographic regions of Queen Ingrid Land and King Frederick IX Land.

Settlement

The only settlement on the shores of the fjord is

Kangerlussuaq Kangerlussuaq (; ; ) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipalities of Greenland, municipality located at the head of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord, fjord of the same name. It was Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of G ...

, located just north of the river estuary at the head of the fjord.

Kangaamiut Kangaamiut,"Maniitsoq", Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992. formerly known as Gammel Sukkertoppen, is a settlement with a population of 293 (2020) in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Geography Kangaamiut is located on an island ...

is located on a small island, on the shores of Davis Strait, approximately south of the fjord mouth.

Transport

The fjord is navigable in its entire length. Cruise ships, such as

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally, and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports ...

and supply ships of Royal Greenland navigate the fjord, mooring at the Kangerlussuaq port, west of Kangerlussuaq Airport.sisimiut.gl
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Authority control Davis Strait Fjords of Greenland Kangerlussuaq