Amerloq Fjord is a long

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

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 ...

. The fjord empties into the

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 ...

just south of

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 ...

, whose former

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

name was also "Amerloq".

History

The Amerloq Fjord then known as Rammel's Fjord was the scene of the

murder of the Dano-English navigator James Hall on 12 or 22 July, 1612. The Inuit were still incensed at the Danish abduction of several people during one of Christian IV's expeditions in 1605, during which Hall served as pilot for John Cunningham.

Geography

The fjord mouth is located at approximately south of the town of Sisimiut. To the north, the fjord is bounded by 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, ...

ridge, whose 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 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, north of the fjord head located at approximately . The head of the fjord is unusual in that it connects through a very narrow waterway to the wider

Ikertooq Fjord Ikertooq Fjord (old spelling: ''Ikertôq'') is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord empties into Davis Strait south of Sisimiut. Geography The upper part of the fjord, a confluence of three tributary inle ...

. From the south, the fjord is bounded by the long

Sarfannguit Island Sarfannguit Island ( kl, Sarfannguit Nunataat, da, Sarfannguaqland) is an island in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. Geography The island is of elongated shape, separated from the mainland of Greenland by Sarfannguit Channel, a n ...

( kl, Sarfannguit Nunataat) in the center and east, and by the smaller Maniitsorsuaq Island in the west. Qeqertarmiut and Annertusoq

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 townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...

separate the fjord mouth from

Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay ( aŋeʁluɑʁsuŋːuɑq̚ da, Ulkebugten) is a bay of the Davis Strait in the Qeqqata municipality on the western coast of Greenland. It is located directly to the north of Sisimiut. Geography The bay branches off Davis ...

in the north.

Settlements

There are two settlements in the vicinity of Amerloq Fjord. At the mouth of the fjord,

town reaches to the sea in its southernmost parts. At the other end of the fjord, at the narrow waterway between the mainland and Sarfannguit Island, the small

Sarfannguit Sarfannguit (old spelling: ''Sarfannguaq / Sarfánguaq'') is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its population was 96 in 2020. The settlement was founded in 1843.

settlement occupies the island promontory.

Transport

Royal Arctic Line Royal Arctic Line A/S (RAL) or Royal Arctic is a seaborne freight company in Greenland, wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. It was formed in 1993, and is headquartered in Nuuk. History Royal Arctic Line A/S was spun off as a company se ...

provides weekly ferry services from Sarfannguit to Sisimiut and

Itilleq Itilleq (old spelling: ''Itivdleq'') is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It is located on a small island around 1 km from the mainland, 45 km south of Sisimiut and 2 km north of the Arctic Circ ...

, a settlement further south on the coast of Davis Strait. The ships sail through the entire length of the fjord on the way. Sisimiut is a port of call for the

Arctic Umiaq Line Arctic Umiaq Line A/S (AUL) or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight shipping line in Greenland. Its name derives from the Kalaallisut word for the traditional Inuit passenger boat, the umiak, distinguished from the kayak, used for hunting. The ...

, with connections to

Ilulissat Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the t ...

and

Aasiaat Aasiaat () or Ausiait, formerly Egedesminde, is a town in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay. With a population of 3,069 as of 2020, it is Greenland's fo ...

in the

Disko Bay Disko Bay ( kl, Qeqertarsuup tunua; da, DiskobugtenChristensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland. ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large ...

region, and to coastal towns in southwestern and southern Greenland.AUL, Timetable 2009
/ref>

References

External links

*{{commonscat inline, Amerloq Fjord Davis Strait Fjords of Greenland Sisimiut