Kangerlussuaq

This article is about the town of Kangerlussuaq in western Greenland. For other locations of the same name, see Kangerlussuaq (disambiguation)

Kangerlussuaq (great fjord)
Søndre Strømfjord (South Stromfjord) Kangerdlugssuaĸ
Kangerlussuaq (around 2004)
Commune	Qeqqata communia
District	Sisimiut
Geographical location	67 ° 0 ′ 36 ″  N , 50 ° 42 ′ 0 ″  W Coordinates: 67 ° 0 ′ 36 ″  N , 50 ° 42 ′ 0 ″  W
Residents	508 (January 1, 2020)
founding	1941
Time zone	UTC-3

Kangerlussuaq [ kaˌŋɜˈɬːusːuɑq ] (according to the old spelling Kangerdlugssuaĸ ; Danish Søndre Strømfjord ) is a Greenlandic settlement in the district of Sisimiut in Qeqqata Kommunia .

location

The Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua near Kangerlussuaq (2008)

Kangerlussuaq lies at the end of the 163 km long fjord of the same name . Right next to the village, the two rivers Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua in Ørkendalen and Qinnguata Kuussua in Sandflugtdalen and flow into the fjord connect from the direction of the inland ice , which is only 25 km away . Lake Tasersuatsiaq (Lake Ferguson) is located directly south of Kangerlussuaq and is surrounded by the mountainous region of Ammalortup Nunaa to the south . North of Kangerlussuaq are the three mountain regions Tarajornitsut , Isunngua and Qarliissuit , while the two rivers surround the Akuliarusiarsuk region .

Kangerlussuaq is located about 50 km north of the Arctic Circle and about 130 km from the open sea, making it by far the most inland location in Greenland.

history

Kangerlussuaq was created through the establishment of the US military base Bluie West-8 , which was in operation from October 7, 1941. 1954 began commercial air operations on the military base by SAS Scandinavian Airlines , which offered the first flight connection between Europe and the North American west coast with a stop in Kangerlussuaq. In 1967 a flight connection to Copenhagen was established. On September 30, 1992, the military base was finally handed over to the Greenland government.

Since 1971, Kangerlussuaq has also been producing sounding rockets of the types Nike Apache , Petrel , Nike Tomahawk , Black Brant , Terrier Malemute , Taurus Orion and Taurus Nike Tomahawk to investigate the high atmosphere of Kangerlussuaq at 67 ° 1 ′ 23 ″  N , 50 ° 35 ′ 49 ″  W started with summit heights of up to 816 kilometers.

Like Pituffik today, Kangerlussuaq was a municipality-free area before it was incorporated into the municipality of Sisimiut on January 1, 2002 .

The plans to build international airports in Ilulissat and Nuuk are accompanied by the consideration that the previous Greenlandic international airports in Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq should be closed, which would have major negative consequences due to the loss of the economic basis of the two villages, as a large part of the population would presumably migrate.

economy

View over Kangerlussuaq (2010)

The economy of Kangerlussuaq is almost entirely centered around the airport. In addition to income from tourism, there is only one musk ox slaughterhouse in Kangerlussuaq, which is only in operation at times.

Tourism offers a multitude of possibilities in Kangerlussuaq: You can hike in the surrounding mountains, kayak through the fjord, watch the northern lights or go to the nearby ice sheet. In addition, Kangerlussuaq is the start or end point of the Arctic Circle Trail , which leads to Sisimiut . In addition, the Kangerlussuaq Museum is the second largest museum in Greenland, which mainly focuses on the aviation history of Greenland. The golf course built by the Americans is sometimes called the northernmost in the world, even though it looks more like a bunker .

Infrastructure and supply

The port of Kangerlussuaq (2010)

Kangerlussuaq is characterized by a distinctive road system that also moves out of the village, as it is highly untypical for Greenland. All roads are American standards. There is a barrier-free bus connection in Kangerlussuaq .

A 35 km long gravel road leads from Kangerlussuaq to the inland ice. This was created around the turn of the millennium and led to a test site set up by Volkswagen to protect against industrial espionage on the inland ice, which no longer exists today. Since Kangerlussuaq is not directly on the water, another road leads to the port about ten kilometers southwest, which is called Camp Lloyd or Kellyville . The construction of a road between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut is being considered, which means that it would be the first road in Greenland to connect two larger towns.

The harbor is in an area where the water is not particularly deep. Although Kangerlussuaq is an important port for cruise ships, it is not possible to dock directly there. There are two potential locations for a new port, which are five and ten kilometers southwest of the previous port and should also be accessible to larger ships.

The Kangerlussuaq Airport is now the most important Greenland airport. Almost all air traffic to Europe is handled through it, with the most important flight connection being to Copenhagen Airport . Flights to the regional airports in Greenland are also operated from Kangerlussuaq. An air freight center is to be built so that Kangerlussuaq can also be used more for freight traffic.

The Tasersuatsiaq near Kangerlussuaq (2008)

The water supply in Kangerlussuaq comes from the Tasersuatsiaq. Electricity is generated by a diesel power plant. Although the possibility of building a hydropower plant exists, this is not currently being considered. Most of the buildings in Kangerlussuaq are connected to the sewage network. Garbage is burned in the place.

Development

Kangerlussuaq has a kindergarten and an elementary school. In 2011 a summer school was opened. Due to the low proportion of senior citizens, there is currently no old people's home in town.

Flora and fauna

The area around Kangerlussuaq is hardly overgrown, only in the nearby valleys you can find willow scrub . The fauna is very rich. There are musk oxen , reindeer , arctic foxes and mountain hares . The bird world is just as pronounced: snow bunting , polar siskins , ravens and falcons live here .

climate

Kangerlussuaq
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     5   -15 -24     4th   -16 -27     5   -12 -24     6th   -2 -13     8th   8th -3     15th   14th 3     24   16 5     33   13 3     18th   8th -1     14th   -2 -10     11   -8th -16     7th   -11 -21 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and DMI data from Jan. 2000 .

Climate table for Kangerlussuaq (1973–1999) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) −14.5 −16.4 −12.4 −2.2 7.6 13.9 16.3 13.4 7.5 −1.8 −7.6 −11.0 O −0.5 Min. Temperature (° C) −24.4 −26.7 −24.0 −13.3 −2.5 3.3 4.8 3.0 −1.4 −9.8 −16.4 −20.8 O −10.6 Temperature (° C) −19.8 −21.4 −18.1 −7.8 2.5 8.6 10.7 8.2 3.0 −5.5 −12.1 −16.4 O −5.6 Precipitation ( mm ) 5 4th 5 6th 8th 15th 24 33 18th 14th 11 7th Σ 150 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 0.1 2.5 5.4 7.1 7.4 8.2 8.1 6.0 4.8 2.6 0.6 0.0 O 4.4 Rainy days ( d ) 1 1 1 2 2 4th 6th 5 4th 4th 4th 2 Σ 36 Source: Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and DMI data from Jan. 2000 .

The climate in Kangerlussuaq is very dry and much more continental than in Sisimiut, which is roughly at the same altitude, which is reflected in colder temperatures in winter and warmer in summer.

Population development

The population of Kangerlussuaq has changed dramatically over the past 40 years. Of the 729 inhabitants in 1978, only 404 were left in 1992, a decrease of 45%. With the nationalization of the airport and the associated withdrawal of Americans in 1992, the population suddenly fell by a further 28% in the next year. Since then, the population has risen again and is now around 500, making Kangerlussuaq the largest village in Greenland before Kullorsuaq .

Web links

Commons : Kangerlussuaq  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Map with all official place names confirmed by Oqaasileriffik , provided by Asiaq
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Kangerlussuaq in Den Store Danske
3. ↑ Stromfjord probe in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
4. ↑ Grønlands Befolkning January 1, 2007 at statgreen.gl (.pdf; archived)
5. ↑ Democrats: Nedgrader Narsarsuaq og Kangerlussuaq til heliporte at Knr.gl
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Kangerlussuaq at qeqqata.odeum.com
7. ↑ Kangerlussuaq at visitgreenland.com
8. ↑ Kangerlussuaq, Greenland at h2g2.com
9. ↑ Secret in the Eternal Ice at muenchner-pressebuero.de
10. ↑ From Kangerlussuaq to the Russel Glacier and the inland ice at 4funweb.de
11. ↑ Kangerlussuaq vejprojekt at qeqqata.gl
12. ↑ Population of Kangerlussuaq 1977–2020 at bank.stat.gl