Simiutaq Island is a uninhabited island 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 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 ...

, located in the mouth of the long

Kangerlussuaq Fjord Kangerlussuaq Fjord (old spelling: ''Kangerdlugssuaq'', ) is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The fjord is long and between and wide, flowing from the estuary of Qinnguata Kuussua river to the southwest, ...

.''Maniitsoq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 It was also known informally as Cruncher Island. Supply ships of

Royal Arctic Line Royal Arctic Line Aktieselskab, A/S (RAL) or Royal Arctic is a seaborne freight company in Greenland, wholly owned by the Naalakkersuisut, Government of Greenland. It was formed in 1993, and is headquartered in Nuuk. History Royal Arctic Line A ...

and cruise ships, such as

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 ...

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 ...

sail into Kangerlussuaq Fjord south of the island. The fjord is navigable in its entire length, with the ships mooring at the

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 ...

port, west of

Kangerlussuaq Airport Kangerlussuaq Airport (, , formerly ''Søndre Strømfjord Lufthavn'' in Danish) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It was originally built as Sondrestrom Air Base (Bluie West- ...

.sisimiut.gl
/ref> There are several small

skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland *Skerries, County Armagh, a List of townlands in County Armagh#S, townland in Coun ...

in the mouth of the fjord, at the southern end of Simiutaq Island.

Geography

The island is located on the shores of

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 ...

, separated from the mainland by the Amerluunguaq Strait in the north, and by the main arm of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord in the southeast. Its name is a generic

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 ...

name for an island at the head of a fjord. It should not be confused with

Simiutaq Simiutaq Island is a uninhabited island in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland, located in the mouth of the long Kangerlussuaq Fjord.''Maniitsoq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 It was also known informally as Cruncher Island. Supply ...

(near

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...

) in southwest Greenland. Simiutaq is not an outlying island; it would have been a continuation of the landmass in the north were it not for the narrow and shallow Amerlunnguaq Strait, which branches to the west off Kangerlussuaq Fjord near the mouth of the latter. Simiutaq is roughly triangular in shape, mostly hilly, with low undulating plain in the north, and the highest point at .

Promontories

Settlement

The closest settlement is

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 ...

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

History

The "Cruncher Island" light and radio beacon, commonly referred to as

Bluie Bluie was the United States military code name for Greenland during World War II. It is remembered by the numbered sequence of base locations identified by the 1941 United States Coast Guard South Greenland Survey Expedition, and subsequently u ...

West Nine (BW-9) during the time of American operation in Greenland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was a wartime radio communications facility located at on Simiutak Island.

References

{{Abandoned sites in Greenland Davis Strait Uninhabited islands of Greenland ceb:Cruncher Island (pulo sa Grenland) sv:Cruncher Island (ö i Grönland)

Geography

Promontories

Settlement

History

See also

References