Sermilik ( da, Egede og Rothes Fjord) is a fjord in eastern

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 part of 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 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. The settlement of

Tasiilaq Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Green ...

is located about 15 km to the east of the mouth of the fjord.

Geography

This fjord, whose Greenlandic name 'Sermilik' means 'place with glaciers' is located at the southern end of

King Christian IX Land King Christian IX Land ( da, Kong Christian IX Land) is a coastal area of Southeastern Greenland in Sermersooq Municipality fronting the Denmark Strait and extending through the Arctic Circle from 65°N to 70°N. History This area was named i ...

, west of

Ammassalik Fjord Ammassalik Fjord (old spelling: ''Angmagssalik Fjord'') is a long fjord in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. Geography The head of the fjord at is formed by the confluence of two narrow, tributary fjords: ''Qingertivaq ...

. It is one of the largest fjords in the southeastern coast of Greenland. Its waters are fed by the Helheim Glacier, Fenris Glacier and

Midgard Glacier Midgard Glacier ( da, Midgårdsgletscher) is a glacier in the Sermersooq municipality, Eastern Greenland. This glacier is named after Midgard, one of the Nine Worlds in Norse mythology. Geography The Midgard Glacier is located on the eastern side ...

among others. The fjord stretches inland in a roughly northern direction and splits into two branches at its head —at the southern limit of

Schweizerland Schweizerland, also known as Schweizerland Alps, is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality.Google Earth Its highest point is one of the highest peaks in G ...

, the western one being the Helheim Fjord and the right one the Ningerti. Sermilik's mouth is located between Kitak Island and Cape Tycho Brahe in the

Denmark Strait The Denmark Strait () or Greenland Strait ( , 'Greenland Sound') is an oceanic strait between Greenland to its northwest and Iceland to its southeast. The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait. Geography The strait connect ...

area of the Atlantic Ocean. Kangersivartikajik is the next fjord to the east along the coast. Near the fjord's entrance on the western side there is the island of Qeertartivatsiaq at the mouth of

Johan Petersen Fjord Johan Petersen Fjord, also known as Petersen Bay ( da, Petersen Bugt), is a fjord in King Christian IX Land, Eastern Greenland. The fjord is named after Danish Arctic explorer Johan Petersen (1813–1880). Geography This fjord is located on the ...

and its eastern branch, the Stoklund Fjord. Sermilik is surrounded by jagged mountainous landscape and its coast is mostly very irregular and steep.''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute'', p. 104

History

Initially

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

had thought that Sermilik would offer a route up to reach the

ice cap In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets. Description Ice caps are not constrained by topographical features ...

for his projected westward overland crossing. On 3 June 1888 Nansen's party was picked up from the north-western Icelandic port of

Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland. The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...

by Norwegian sealer ''

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

''. A week later the Greenland coast was sighted, but progress was hindered by thick

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

. On 17 July, with the coast still away, Nansen decided to launch the small boats; they were within sight of the Sermilik Fjord, which Nansen had deemed a good place to reach the ice sheet in order to cross it and reach

Christianshåb Qasigiannguit (), formerly Christianshåb, is a town located in western Greenland on the southeastern shore of Disko Bay in the Qeqertalik municipality. With 1,081 inhabitants in 2020, it is the thirteenth-largest town in Greenland. The main indu ...

.Huntford, pp. 97–99 The expedition left ''Jason'' "in good spirits and with the highest hopes of a fortunate result", according to ''Jason's'' captain. There followed days of extreme frustration for the party as, prevented by weather and sea conditions from reaching the shore, they drifted southwards with the ice. Most of this time was spent camping on the ice itself—it was too dangerous to launch the boats. By 29 July they were south of the point where they had left the ship. On that day they finally reached land, but were too far south to begin the crossing. After a brief rest, Nansen ordered the team back into the boats and to begin rowing north. In the end Nansen finally began his crossing at

Umivik Bay Umivik Bay ( da, Umivik Bugt), also known as ''Umiivik'' and ''Umerik'', is a bay in King Frederick VI Coast, southeastern Greenland. It is part of the Sermersooq municipality. Unlike the jagged and forbidding appearance of most fjord systems i ...

.Reynolds, pp. 48–52

Gallery

Bibliography

*Bjarne Grønnow, Jens Fog Jensen (2003). ''The Northernmost Ruins of the Globe''. Museum Tusculanum Press.
Mernild, S. H.; Liston, G. E.; Howat, I. M.; Ahn, Y.; Steffen, K.; Hasholt, B.; Jakobsen, B. H.; Fog, B.; van As, D., ''Freshwater flux to Sermilik Fjord, SE Greenland''
* (First published in 1997 by Gerald Duckworth) *

References

External links