Nasaasaaq ( asaːsɑːq̚ da, Kællingehætten) is a prominent

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, immediately to the southeast 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 ...

on the northern coast of

Amerloq Fjord Amerloq Fjord is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord empties into the Davis Strait just south of Sisimiut, whose former Inuit name was also "Amerloq". History The Amerloq Fjord then known as Rammel's Fjord ...

, a tributary of

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 ...

. 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 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 Nasaasaaq ridge has several summits. The main summit is the most prominent, rising over the remainder of the ridge in a tall cone at . The ridge terminates in a trabant overlooking Sisimiut. To the east the ridge gradually falls to nearly , before turning east-north-east towards the Aappilattorsuaq massif. The southern wall of Nasaasaaq falls directly to Amerloq Fjord. The northern wall is not a uniform surface, dissected by ledges, dihedrals, and ramps. The main access route to the summit leads through one of the ramps to the saddle between the main summit and its western trabant. The passage on the top cone is secured by ropes for unprepared tourists.

Tourism

The main summit is visited for its long-range view of the coast, although more limited to the north than that of

Palasip Qaqqaa Palasip Qaqqaa ( da, Præstefjeldet) is a mountain in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. It is located on the mainland of Greenland on the coast of Davis Strait, immediately to the north of Sisimiut Airport. The mountain massif is s ...

to the north of the town airport. An alternative route to the top of interest to mountaineers leads through the hard-to-find low pass to the east of the main summit, and from there directly on the summit cone ridge.

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 the much lower Alanngorsuaq mountain to the north, with the summit of the latter sometimes visited by way of a variant. 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 also installed on the saddle.

References

{{reflist Davis Strait Mountains of Greenland Sisimiut