Avannaata (, da, Det Nordlige, lit=The Northern) 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 by the Qeqertalik municipality. In the southeast, it is bordered by the

Sermersooq Sermersooq (, da, sted med meget is, lit=place of much ice) is a municipality in Greenland, formed on 1 January 2009 from five earlier, smaller municipalities. Its administrative seat is the city of Nuuk (formerly called Godthåb), the capital ...

municipality, however this border runs north–south ( 45° West

meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

) through the center of 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 equ ...

( kl, Sermersuaq), and as such is free of traffic. In the east and northeast it is bordered by the

Northeast Greenland National Park Northeast Greenland National Park ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, da, Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas all consist mostly of sea). ...

. At the southern end of the municipal coastline are the waters of Disko Bay, although some Disko Bay communities belong to the municipality of Qeqertalik. This bay is an inlet of the larger

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Ar ...

, which to the north edges into the island of Greenland in the form of Melville Bay. The coastline of northeastern Baffin Bay is dotted with islands of the Upernavik Archipelago, which is entirely contained within the municipality. In the far northwest near

Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inuk ...

and

Siorapaluk Siorapaluk (West Greenlandic) or Hiurapaluk ( Polar Inuit) is a settlement in the Qaanaaq area of the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. It is one of the world's northernmost inhabited settlements, the northernmost settlement inhabite ...

, the municipal shores extend into

Nares Strait , other_name = , image = Map indicating Nares Strait.png , alt = , caption = Nares Strait (boxed) is between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry ...

, which separates Greenland from

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and third largest island, and the tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Bri ...

. Avannaata's western side extends to the formerly disputed

Hans Island Hans Island ( Inuktitut and kl, Tartupaluk, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; da, Hans Ø; french: Île Hans) is an island in the very centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Canadian territory of ...

's eastern half, while Canada's Qiqiktaluuk Region administers the western half.

Politics

Avannaata's municipal council consists of 17 members, elected every four years.Avannaata.gl
"Kommunalbestyrelsen"

Municipal council

Administrative divisions

Ilulissat area

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 ...

(Jakobshavn) * Ilimanaq (Claushavn) * Oqaatsut (Rodebay) * Qeqertaq (Øen) * Saqqaq (Solsiden)

Qaanaaq area

(Thule) * Qeqertat *

Savissivik Savissivik (West Greenlandic; old spelling: ''Savigsivik'') or Havighivik (Inuktun) is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. Located on Meteorite Island, off the northern shores of Melville Bay, the settlement had 55 ...

Uummannaq area

Uummannaq Uummannaq is a town in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763 as Omenak, ...

(Omenak) * Ikerasak * Illorsuit * Niaqornat * Nuugaatsiaq * Qaarsut * Saattut * Ukkusissat

Upernavik area

* Upernavik (Women's Island) * Aappilattoq *

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 ...

* Kangersuatsiaq * Kullorsuaq * Naajaat * Nutaarmiut * Nuussuaq (Kraulshavn) * Tasiusaq * Tussaaq * Upernavik Kujalleq (Søndre Upernavik)

Language

''Kalaallisut'', the West Greenlandic dialect, is spoken in the towns and settlements of the western and northwestern coasts.

Inuktun Inuktun ( en, Polar Inuit, kl, avanersuarmiutut, da, nordgrønlandsk, polarinuitisk, thulesproget) is the language of approximately 1,000 indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the sur ...

is also spoken in and around Qaanaaq.

References and notes

Ilulissat Disko Bay Municipalities of Greenland Upernavik Archipelago Uummannaq Fjord States and territories established in 2018 2018 establishments in Denmark {{Greenland-geo-stub