Tasiusaq Bay ( Danish: ''Vakkerprydsbugt'') is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in the

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 ...

in 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 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 ...

. It is an indentation of northeastern

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 ...

. The name of the bay derives from the name of the settlement of the same name in the bay.

Geography

The bay is located in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, between

Sugar Loaf Bay Sugar Loaf Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentation of northeastern Baffin Bay. The name of the bay derives from the name of an island of the same name in the bay, Su ...

in the north, and Upernavik Icefjord in the south. At its widest − from the Cape Shackleton promontory on

Apparsuit Island Apparsuit Island (old spelling: ''Agparssuit'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Cape Shackleton, the western promontory of the island, marks the northernmost extent of Tasiusaq Bay, an indentation of ...

in the north at , to the mouth of Upernavik Icefjord in the south''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992''Upernavik'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 − Tasiusaq Bay stretches for approximately .

Islands

There is a large number of islands and

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 bay, scattered over the entire area. They can be divides into several groups:

Northern band

The northernmost group of islands lies between the

Nasaussap Saqqaa Nasaussap Saqqaa (old spelling: ''Nasaussap Sarqâ'', ) is a fjord in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, 1:250.000, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Geography The long fjord is an inlet of Sugar Loaf Bay, f ...

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 ...

emptying into Sugar Loaf Bay in the north, and the Kangerlussuaq Icefjord in the south. The major islands, listed from north to south, are: * Qullikorsuit Island *

Paornivik Island Paornivik Island is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography The horseshoe-shaped Paornivik Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago. It is sandwiched bet ...

Mernoq Island Mernoq Island is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. History With brief intervals of no permanent settlement, Mernoq Island was inhabited between 1891, when the Kuuk settlement was founded, and 1972, whe ...

Central band

The central group of islands lies between the Kangerlussuaq Icefjord in the north, and the mouth of Upernavik Icefjord in the south. The major islands, listed from north to south, are: *

Tuttorqortooq Island Tuttorqortooq Island (old spelling: ''Tugtorqortôq'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography Tuttorqortooq Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, ...

Horse Head Island Horse Head Island (, old spelling: ''Agpalersalik'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography Horse Head Island is an outlying island in Tasiusaq Bay, an indentation of Baffin Bay in the north-cen ...

* Qallunaat Island * Mattaangassut Island *

Nutaarmiut Island Nutaarmiut Island (old spelling: ''Nutârmiut'') is an uninhabitedSaattorsuaq Island * Nuuluk Island *

Anarusuk Island Anarusuk Island is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Geography Anarusuk Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the shores of the inner reaches of Kang ...

* Aappilattoq Island * Uigorlersuaq Island * Tasiusaq Island * Aukarnersuaq Island * Paagussat Island * Qaqaarissorsuaq Island * Illunnguit Island * Kangaarsuk Island * Ateqanngitsorsuaq Island * Qaarsorsuatsiaq Island *

Innaarsuit Island Innaarsuit Island (old spelling: ''Ivnârssuit'') is an island in the Upernavik Archipelago in northwestern Greenland. It forms part of the Innaarsuit settlement in Avannaata municipality. The village had 166 residents in 2017, largely based on ...

* Naajaat Island

Upernavik Icefjord islands

The southern group of islands bounds the Upernavik Icefjord from the north. The major islands, listed from east to west, are: *

Maniitsoq Maniitsoq () or Sukkertoppen is a town on Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,534 inhabitants , it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland. History Archaeological finds indicate that the area ha ...

* Puugutaa * Qaneq * Sisuarissut * Tussaaq

Glaciers and nunataks

The coastline of mainland Greenland in the region is a series of alternating

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 ...

s and

glacier 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 ...

s draining 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 major features, from north to south, are: *

Giesecke Glacier Giesecke Glacier () is a glacier in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Its outflow is split in the center by a nunatak. Through two tongues it drains the Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which form ...

with its two tongues: ''Qeqertarsuup Sermia'' and ''Kakiffait Sermiat'' * Nunatarsuaq nunatak * Alanngorsuup Sermia glacier * Qassersuaq Peninsula *

Upernavik Glacier Upernavik Glacier (, ) is a large tidewater glacier in Avannaata municipality on the northwestern shore of Greenland. It drains a large portion of the Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which forms the second larg ...

Waterways

The major waterways of Tasiusaq Bay are the

fjord in the north, Kangerlussuaq Icefjord, and Upernavik Icefjord in the south.

Settlement

The mainland is uninhabited, and only some of the islands are settled. Tasiusaq is the largest settlement in the bay. Other settlements are

Nutaarmiut Nutaarmiut (old spelling: ''Nutârmiut'') is an island settlement in Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland. It had 43 inhabitants in 2020. Upernavik Archipelago Nutaarmiut is located within Upernavik Archipelago, a vast archipe ...

Innaarsuit Innaarsuit (old spelling: ''Ivnârssuit'') is an island settlement in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on an island of the same name. the settlement had 180 inhabitants in 2020. Upernavik Archipelago Innaarsuit is ...

, and Naajaat. The former settlement of Tussaaq has one inhabitant left.

References

{{coord, 73, 20, N, 55, 50, W, scale:250000, display=title Bays of the Upernavik Archipelago