Nuup Kangerlua 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
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
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in southwestern
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 ...
. It was formerly known by its colonial name as Godthaab Fjord (), Gilbert Sound and Baal's River.
[Nicoll, James. ]
An Historical and Descriptive Account of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
'. Oliver & Boyd, 1840.
Located by the island's capital,
Nuuk, it is the longest fjord on the
Labrador Sea
The Labrador Sea (; ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffi ...
coast of Greenland, and one of the longest in the inhabited part of the country.
Geography
The fjord head is located deep inland, with the fjord beginning as an icefjord at , with two glaciers draining 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 ...
() flowing into the fjord.
Initially, the fjord flows to the northwest, to then turn southwest at , splitting into three arms in its lower run, with three large, mountainous islands in between the arms:
Sermitsiaq Island with the
Sermitsiaq mountain visible from most of
Nuuk,
Qeqertarsuaq Island, and
Qoornuup Qeqertarsua Island.
The fjord widens into a bay dotted with
skerries near its mouth, opening into Labrador Sea at approximately , near the former
Kangeq settlement.
Settlement
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is located near the mouth of the fjord, on a mountainous peninsula bounding the fjord from the southeast.
Kapisillit (Lakskaj) is located northeast of Nuuk, near the head of
Kapisillit Kangerluaq,
one of the tributary fjords of Nuup Kangerlua.
See also
*
List of fjords of Greenland
This is a list of the most important fjords of Greenland:In Greenland, Northern Greenland, a large area made up entirely of fjords; therefore Peary Land above not a fjord but a fjord area.In Greenland, Northeastern Greenland, a large area made ...
References
{{reflist
Fjords of Greenland
Labrador Sea
Geography of Nuuk