Kangerlussuaq Fjord (old spelling: ''Kangerdlugssuaq'', da, Søndre Strømfjord) 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 central-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 is long and between and wide, flowing from the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

Qinnguata Kuussua Qinnguata Kuussua is a river in a valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its source is a large meltwater outflow from Russell Glacier flowing from the Greenland Ice Sheet. It is the main river in the ...

river to the southwest, and emptying 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 ...

. It is the longest fjord of western Greenland.

Geography

The head of the fjord is located at , at the estuary of the Qinnguata Kuussua river flowing from the Russell Glacier 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 equiva ...

( kl, Sermersuaq). The fjord mouth is located at , south of the Simiutaq Island. Another, smaller waterway connects to the sea to the north of the island.Maniitsoq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Kangerlussuaq Fjord does not have any tributary fjords, with a fairly uniform coastline. Small hills of the

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 ...

, such as the highlands of

Tarajornitsut Tarajornitsut is an uninhabited tundra highland in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, within the bounds of Kangaamiut dike swarm. The highland has many lakes, shallow valleys, hills, and wetlands, with plentiful wildlife, such ...

, dominate the coast of the inner parts of the fjord, transforming into steep mountain ranges towards the mouth. In that it is different from fjords of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, or indeed many other fjords in Greenland, the coast of which is flanked by progressively smaller mountains.

Alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

s from Qinnguata Kuussua, which carries

meltwater Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater can be ...

from the ice sheet give rise to a distinct emerald coloring of the fjord waters for several kilometers from the fjord head.

Silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

accumulation at the estuary formed patches of

quicksand Quicksand is a colloid A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a ...

of variable size up to a kilometer into the fjord. This fjord marks the border between the two geographic regions of Queen Ingrid Land and King Frederick IX Land.

Settlement

The only settlement on the shores of the fjord is

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 ...

, located just north of the river estuary at the head of the fjord.

Kangaamiut Kangaamiut,"Maniitsoq", Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992. formerly known as Gammel Sukkertoppen, is a settlement with a population of 293 (2020) in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Geography Kangaamiut is located on an island ...

is located on a small island, on the shores of Davis Strait, approximately south of the fjord mouth.

Transport

The fjord is navigable in its entire length. Cruise ships, such as

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...

and supply ships of

Royal Greenland Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland, spun off from Kalaallit Niuerfiat in 1990 but still wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processi ...

navigate the fjord, mooring at the Kangerlussuaq port, west of

Kangerlussuaq Airport Kangerlussuaq Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Kangerlussuaq, da, Søndre Strømfjord Lufthavn) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two c ...

.sisimiut.gl
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References

External links

* {{Authority control Davis Strait Fjords of Greenland Kangerlussuaq