Tasermiut Fjord is a 70-kilometre-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 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.
Nanortalik Island is located near the mouth of the fjord.
Tasermiut Fjord has some of the very few growths of
dwarf trees in Greenland, notably in
Qinngua Valley and
Tiningnertoq valley.
Geography
The fjord is oriented in a roughly NE/SW direction, to the southwest the 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 1,590 m high
Napasorsuaq peak rising in the peninsula to the west of the fjord. To the east rise the 1,858 m high
Ulamertorsuaq, the 2,045 m high
Nalumasortoq and the 2,010 m high
Ketil
Ketil is a Norwegian masculine given name, and may refer to:
* Ketil Askildt (1900-1978), Norwegian discus thrower
* Ketil Bjørnstad (born 1952), Norwegian pianist
* Ketil Flatnose (9th century), Norwegian hersir
* Ketil Haugsand (21st centur ...
.
The 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 the
Sermeq Glacier in neighbouring
Southern Sermilik Fjord as well.
Tourism
This fjord attracts climbers, kayakers, and trekkers, and is famous for its mountains and challenging rock faces. Many mountaineering expeditions have come to Tasermiut Fjord because of the challenge of peaks and the possibility of new climbing routes.
As well as climbing, Tasermiut is used as a starting point for challenging treks to
Kangikitsoq,
Kangerdluk,
Herjofsnaes, and
Stordalen Havn.
Trekking photos by walkers visiting Tasermiut in recent years
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Tasermiut Fjord can be accessed by short boat journey from Nanortalik
Nanortalik (, ), formerly Nennortalik, is a town in Nanortalik Island, Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality, southern Greenland. With 1,072 inhabitants as of 2024, it is the List of cities and towns in Greenland, eleventh-largest ...
, which is the southernmost major settlement in Greenland, with a population of around 1000 people.
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