Nuugaatsiaq (old spelling: ''Nûgâtsiaq'') is a settlement in the

Avannaata 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 ...

municipality, in 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 on an island off the southern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula, in the

Uummannaq Fjord Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland. It has a roughly south-east to west-north-west orientation, emptying into the Baffin Bay in the nort ...

basin. It had 84 inhabitants in 2010.

History

On 17 June 2017, a landslide measuring fell about into the Karrak fiord, causing a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

that hit Nuugaatsiaq. Four people were killed, nine injured and eleven buildings were washed into the water. In the beginning the tsunami had a height of , but it was significantly lower once it hit the settlement. Initially it was unclear if the landslide was caused by a small

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

(magnitude 4), but later it was confirmed that the landslide had caused the tremors. The town was largely abandoned following the tsunami.

Transport

Air Greenland Air Greenland A/S (formerly named Grønlandsfly), also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 32 aircraft, including 1 airliner used for transatlantic and cha ...

serves the village as part of government contract, with mostly cargo helicopter flights from

Nuugaatsiaq Heliport Nuugaatsiaq Heliport is a heliport in Nuugaatsiaq, a village in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The heliport is considered a ''helistop'', and is served by Air Greenland as part of a government contract. Airlines and desti ...

Illorsuit Illorsuit (; old spelling: ''Igdlorssuit'') is a former settlement in Avannaata municipality, in western Greenland. Located on the northeastern shore of Illorsuit Island − northwest of Uummannaq at the mouth of the Uummannaq Fjord − the settl ...

and

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, ...

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 ...

also serves the village by ship. This sea link connects Nuugaatsiaq, and other villages on Uummannaq Fjord to Aasiaat.

Population

The population of Nuugaatsiaq has dropped by over 16 percent relative to the 2000 levels, reflecting a general trend in the region.Statistics Greenland
A November 2015 edition of ''National Geographic'' reported about 80 inhabitants, with many houses in the village empty.

References

{{Settlements in Greenland Populated places in Greenland Populated places of Arctic Greenland Uummannaq Fjord