Nuussuaq Peninsula (old spelling ''Nûgssuaq'' or simply ''Nugsuak'') is a mainland

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

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 ...

, located at the northern end of

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 ...

, approximately to the south of

Melville Bay Melville Bay (; ), 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, ''Qimusseriarsuaq'', means "the great dog sledding pla ...

.Upernavik Avannarleq, Saga Map, 1:250.000, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 It is much smaller than its

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

in western Greenland.

Geography

Nuussuaq-peninsula-upernavik-archipelago

The base of the peninsula is a

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...

located at , and rising to above 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 ...

() reaching the sea level to the south and north of the nunatak. The peninsula has a southwest–northwest orientation, jutting into

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...

to the southwest, separating the

Nuussuup Kangia Nuussuup Kangia (old spelling: ''Nûgssûp Kangia'', ) is a fjord in northwestern Greenland, located at the northern end of Upernavik Archipelago.''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, 1:250.000, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Geography Cornell Glacier dra ...

fjord in the southeast from the

Inussulik Bay Inussulik Bay (, 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, between Kiatassuaq Isl ...

in the northwest. The peninsula is narrow, approximately long, and wide, narrowing to a

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

in several places. It is very mountainous, culminating in two peaks in its central part. The mountain tops at the spine of the peninsula are partially

glaciated A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires d ...

, with the ''Sermikassaq'' mountain glacier flowing to the north from the highest point. While the small bay near the

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 provides a sheltered harbour, the remainder of the southeastern coastline is not developed. There are several fjords on the northwestern shore, from ''Qasigialissuaq'' in the southwest, to ''Qasigiassuit'' and much larger ''Kangerluarsuk'' in the northeast. The latter separates the peninsula from

Illulissuaq Peninsula Illulissuaq Peninsula (old spelling: ''Igdluligssuaq'') is a mainland peninsula in northwestern Greenland, located in the northern part of Upernavik ArchipelagoUpernavik Avannarleq, Saga Map, 1:250.000, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 History The peninsul ...

, a smaller peninsula branching off Nuussuaq Peninsula west of its base. The only island of any size in Inussulik Bay off the northern coast is the flooded mountain of

Illoorfik Island Illoorfik Island (old spelling: ''Igdlôrfik'') is a small, uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The island is a single flooded mountain of .''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Geography I ...

Settlement

Although there are many island settlements in the region, Nuussuaq Peninsula is the only permanently inhabited part of the approximately long stretch of the mainland of Greenland between

Ukkusissat Ukkusissat (, old spelling: ''Uvkusigssat'') is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland. The population of the settlement was 154 in 2020. The name means soapstone. Geography The settlement abuts the northwestern ti ...

, a village located on

Ukkusissat Peninsula Ukkusissat (, old spelling: ''Uvkusigssat'') is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland. The population of the settlement was 154 in 2020. The name means soapstone. Geography The settlement abuts the northwestern ti ...

in 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 ...

region to the south, and

Savissivik Savissivik (West Greenlandic; old spelling: ''Savigsivik'') or Havighivik (Inuktun) is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. Located on Meteorite Island, off the northern shores of Melville Bay, the settlement had 55 i ...

at the northern end of Melville Bay, to the north. The

settlement is located east of the ''Nuussuup Nuua'', the southwestern cape at .

Tourism

There are several trails across the peninsula, but the mountainous interior is limited to

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

. Tourism in the region is very undeveloped, and there are no facilities. The coastline of the peninsula can be explored by chartering the boats of the local

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

hunters.

References

{{coord, 74, 12, N, 56, 30, W, scale:1000000, display=title Inussulik Bay Sugar Loaf Bay Peninsulas of the Upernavik Archipelago