Siorapaluup Kangerlua, also known as Robertson Fjord and Robertson Bay, is a
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 northern
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 ...
. To the southwest, the fjord opens into the
Murchison Sound of the
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 ...
.
GoogleEarth
Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...
Administratively it belongs to the
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.
The settlement of
Siorapaluk
Siorapaluk ( West Greenlandic) or Hiurapaluk ( Polar Inuit) is a settlement in the Qaanaaq area of the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. The settlement is located in the northern shore of the Siorapaluup Kangerlua (Robertson Fjord ...
is located in the northern shore of the fjord.
History
In 1920 a spot in the shore of the fjord was chosen by
Lauge Koch
Lauge Koch (5 July 1892 – 5 June 1964) was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer.
Biography
Lauge Koch was born in 1892 to Karl and Elisabeth Koch. His development as a scientist was greatly influenced by his father's second cousin Johan Peter ...
as a base during his expedition to
Peary Land
Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the nor ...
further north.
[Spencer Apollonio, ''Lands That Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland'', 2008 p. 141]
Geography
Siorapaluup Kangerlua, together with
MacCormick Fjord close to the east, is one of the two main indentations of the northern side of the
Murchison Sound. It runs in a roughly NE/SW direction with its mouth southeast of
Cape Robertson, beyond the western end of the
Inglefield Gulf and south of the unnamed fjord where the
Morris Jesup Glacier has its terminus.
The waters of the fjord are very deep. There are impressive cliffs lining the fjord's shores near its head, where the
Meehan Glacier and the
Verhoeff Glacier discharge 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 ...
. The terminus of the Verhoeff Glacier is an almost high wall of ice on the eastern side of the head of the fjord.
[''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute,'' p. 88]
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 ...
*
Siorapaluk Heliport
References
External links
Little Auk hunting in the Thule area, Greenland - Seabird harvestCoastline from Robertson fjord to Foulke Fjord - BirdLife Data ZoneLauge Koch: pioneer geo-explorer of Greenland's far north - jstor
Fjords of Greenland
{{Greenland-fjord-stub