Alanngorsuaq is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the

Qeqqata Qeqqata (, da, Centrum, lit=Centre) is a municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in the central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,378 as of January 2020. Th ...

municipality in western

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. It is located on the mainland of Greenland in

Sisimiut Sisimiut (), formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loosely used to describe any popula ...

valley, approximately east of the town.

Geography

Alanngorsuaq is a standalone mountain, separated from the

Nasaasaaq Nasaasaaq ( asaːsɑːq̚ da, Kællingehætten) is a prominent mountain in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. It is located on the mainland of Greenland, immediately to the southeast of Sisimiut on the northern coast of Amerloq Fjord, ...

massif in the south by a shallow saddle. The mountain massif is spread out over in the west–east direction, constituting the terminal point of a long mountain range extending from the

Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop-motion children's television series co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It was originally produced from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Trickfilmstudio) for SF DRS in Switzerlan ...

mountain group halfway between

Davis Strait Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer Jo ...

and the

Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( da, Grønlands indlandsis, kl, Sermersuaq) is a vast body of ice covering , roughly near 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is sometimes referred to as an ice cap, or under the term ''inland ice'', or its Danish equiva ...

( kl, Sermersuaq). The range flattens considerably towards the east in the area of

Kangaamiut dike swarm The Kangaamiut dike swarm (old spelling: ''Kangâmiut'') is a 2.04 billion year old dike swarm located in the Qeqqata region of western Greenland. The dikes cut Archean orthogneisses and are exposed along approximately of the coast and a similar ...

north of

Kangerlussuaq Kangerlussuaq (; ; da, Søndre Strømfjord), is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commer ...

, due to pressure exerted by the icesheet for long periods in the past. The Nasaasaaq ridge connects to the other latitudinal ridges approximately east of Sisimiut.

Topography

The summit ridge of Alanngorsuaq is of roughly east–west direction, with the summit in the center. The southern slope falls mildly towards the saddle, while the northeastern wall falls with a steep cliff in its western part, gradually easing towards the east. It is the only part of the massif of interest to

mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

Tourism

Recreation

Alanngorsuaq is surrounded by several lakes to the west and northwest, one of which serves Sisimiut town as a water

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. Two reservoirs in the valley provide the town waterworks with of water, while another two can supply a minimum of annually. Sisimiut valley is the primary recreation areas for the townspeople, with easy access to the reservoirs by a gravel road in the middle part of the valley. The summit itself is very frequently visited from the southern side for its wide view over the valley and the mountain ranges encircling it from three sides.

Skiing

Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

around the mountain is popular in winter, while a small lift for

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping), w ...

is installed on the southern slope, due south of the summit.

Polar Route

The tough, ''Arctic Circle Race'' takes place each winter, with the trail partially overlapping with the ''Polar Route'' from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. The race was inaugurated in 1998, since then becoming an international competition. The ''Polar Route'' passes through the saddle between Nasaasaaq and Alanngorsuaq, and the summit is sometimes visited by way of a variant.

References

{{reflist Davis Strait Mountains of Greenland Sisimiut