Melville Bay ( kl, Qimusseriarsuaq; da, Melville Bugt), is a large
bay off the coast of northwestern
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 ...
. Located to the north of the
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at ...
, it opens to the south-west into
Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, ''Qimusseriarsuaq'', means "the great dog sledding place".
The bay was named after
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville (14 March 1771 – 10 June 1851) was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was als ...
, (1771 - 1851)
head of the Admiralty.
Geography
Melville Bay is delimited by
Cape York in the northeast and
Wilcox Head
Wilcox Head is a cape in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Geography
The cape is the western promontory on Kiatassuaq Island,''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 delimiting the southern end of Melville Bay, ...
, the western promontory on
Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island (old spelling: ''Kiatagssuaq'', da, Holm Ø, Holm Island) is an uninhabited island in the northern Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It marks the southern border of Melville Bay.
Histor ...
in the south.
[''Upernavik Avannarleq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992]
Some islands of the
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at ...
are in the Melville Bay area, such as
Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island (old spelling: ''Kiatagssuaq'', da, Holm Ø, Holm Island) is an uninhabited island in the northern Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It marks the southern border of Melville Bay.
Histor ...
,
Kullorsuaq Island
Kullorsuaq Island (old spelling: ''Kuvdlorssuaq'') is an island in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The name of the island means "''a big thumb''" in the Greenlandic language.
Geography
Part of the Upernavik Archipelago, ...
,
Saarlia Island and
Saqqarlersuaq Island
Saqqarlersuaq Island (old spelling: ''Sarqardlerssuaq'') is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Part of the Upernavik Archipelago, Saqqarlersuaq Island is located in the southern part of Melville Bay.
Geog ...
. Melville Bay is free of fast ice between mid August and the end of September on average. Navigation is dangerous as there are numerous icebergs in the bay throughout the year.
[''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute,'' p. 82]
History
In the 19th century Melville Bay was an important place for
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
fleets.
See also
*
Cape York (Greenland)
Cape York () is a Headland, cape on the northwestern coast of Greenland, in northern Baffin Bay.
Geography
It is a pronounced projection. It delimits the northwestern end of Melville Bay, with the other end commonly defined as Wilcox Head, th ...
*
Wandel Land
Wandel Land is a nunatak ( kl, nunataq) in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of several nunataks in the Melville Bay region of Greenland, where the Greenland ice sheet ( kl, Sermersuaq) drains into the bay alongside i ...
References
External links
*
Satellite image Source:
WikiMapia
Wikimapia is a geographic online encyclopedia project. The project implements an interactive "clickable" web map that utilizes Google Maps with a geographically-referenced wiki system, with the aim to mark and describe all geographical objects ...
Bays of the Upernavik Archipelago
{{Greenland-geo-stub