Tuttilik (old spelling ''Tugtilik''), also known as Lake Fjord, 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 the municipality of

Sermersooq 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 ...

, southeastern

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 ...

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 ...

Tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

prevails in the region of the fjord, the average annual temperature in the area being . The warmest month is July when the average temperature rises to and the coldest is January with . The fjord is free of ice between July and October in average years.

History

Tugtilik probably means "the place where the

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

live" (tugto is Greenlandic for reindeer) and the river flowing into the fjord from the lake is rich in

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes, as well as Arctic and subarctic coastal waters in the Holarctic realm, Holarctic. Distribution and habitat It Spaw ...

. It is likely to have been settled by

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 ...

hunters for centuries. There are the remains of at least nine winter houses on the south and west side of the fjord, but all were abandoned by the 20th century. Following the success of his

British Arctic Air Route Expedition The British Arctic Air Route Expedition (BAARE) was a privately funded expedition to the east coast and interior of the island of Greenland from 1930 to 1931. Led by Gino Watkins, it aimed to improve maps and charts of poorly surveyed sections of ...

of 1930–31,

Gino Watkins Henry George "Gino" Watkins Royal Geographical Society, FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic exploration, Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell. Biography Born in London, he was ...

returned to Tugtilik, or as he called it, Lake Fjord, in 1932 on the East Greenland Expedition to continue the exploration work with a smaller team. A purpose of the expedition was to take metrological observations around the lake, the only place in the area where planes could land on skis or floats, without the hazard of icebergs and

pack ice Pack or packs may refer to: Music * Packs (band), a Canadian indie rock band * ''Packs'' (album), by Your Old Droog * ''Packs'', a Berner album Places * Pack, Styria, defunct Austrian municipality * Pack, Missouri, United States (US) * ...

. On 20 August 1932, he would die in this fjord after he went hunting for

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s in its waters. Later that day his empty

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

was found floating upside down by his companions. His body was never found.East Greenland Expedition (Pan Am) 1932 -33
/ref> A monument to Watkins stands on the rocky promontory between the main fjord and the westerly branch.
26 July 2016 The remains of the hunting hut of the 1932–33 East Greenland Expedition (Rejsehus) is at the head of the shallow western branch of the fjord.

Geography

Tuttilik is a small fjord of the

King Christian IX Land King Christian IX Land () is a coastal area of Southeastern Greenland in Sermersooq Municipality fronting the Denmark Strait and extending through the Arctic Circle from 65°N to 70°N. History This area was named in September 1884 by Gustav ...

coast located east of Nigertuluk Fjord and south of the Southern K.J.V. Steenstrup Glacier. It extends in a roughly north/south direction for about . The basin inside the fjord has steep mountains on both sides and the terminus of the glacier at the head of the fjord forms a high wall of ice. A long tributary fjord of the same width branches from the western shore of the main fjord about from the mouth. Watkins gave the name 'Lake Fjord' to the place after a long lake that lies a little inland to the west of the head of this branch. To the south the fjord opens into 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 ...

near Cape Wandel. Ailsa Island lies at the mouth of the fjord, named after

Ailsa Craig Ailsa Craig (; ) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the remains of a magmatic pluton formed d ...

in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

in Scotland.''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute'', p. 108

Gallery

Bibliography

*Spencer Apollonio, ''Lands That Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland'', 2008

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links