Southern Sermilik () 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 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 ...
. Administratively it is part of the
Kujalleq
Kujalleq (Greenlandic language, Greenlandic: , ) is a municipality on the southern tip of Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The administrative center of the municipality is in Qaqortoq (formerly called Julianehåb).
Creation
The munic ...
municipality.
Geography
The fjord is oriented in a roughly NE/SW direction, to the southwest the Southern Sermilik Fjord opens into 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 ...
of the
North Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
. It separates two long mountainous peninsulas, the mountains on the northwestern side of the fjord rising steeply from the shore to heights of over , and the 1,590 m high
Napasorsuaq peak rising in the peninsula to the east of the fjord.
The islands of
Amitsok and
Angmalortoq —the latter rising to a height of 1,253 m— lie at the mouth of the fjord. There are further islands beyond them,
Sermersooq Island
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 m ...
being the largest.
The
Sermeq Glacier at the inland end of this fjord has been undergoing a well documented recession in recent history. A similar retreat of the glacier at the fjord's head has been documented in neighbouring
Tasermiut Fjord
Tasermiut Fjord is a 70-kilometre-long fjord in southwestern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Kujalleq municipality. Nanortalik Island is located near the mouth of the fjord.
Tasermiut Fjord has some of the very few growths of d ...
as well.
Mapping glacial retreat in the Tasermiut Fjord region of SW Greenland
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Bibliography
*Ivar Haug (2005)
UBiT (Trondheim University Library),
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
External links
Pictures of Southern Sermilik and Tasermiut
Pictures of Southern Sermilik
Fjords of Greenland
{{Greenland-fjord-stub