Tarajornitsut is an uninhabited

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

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 ...

, within the bounds 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 ...

. The highland has many lakes, shallow valleys, hills, and wetlands, with plentiful wildlife, such as arctic geese. It is also a major calving ground for

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

. In the future the area will become a protected nature reserve. The ''Polar Route'' from

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 ...

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 ...

ends in Tarajornitsut, on the shore of

Kangerlussuaq Fjord Kangerlussuaq Fjord (old spelling: ''Kangerdlugssuaq'', da, Søndre Strømfjord) is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The fjord is long and between and wide, flowing from the estuary of Qinnguata Kuussua r ...

Geography

Tarajornitsut is located north of

, behind the dike scarp bounding the fjord from the northwest. The eastern part of the wide highland region of numerous lakes (some of which are saline), wet valley depressions, and mostly barren hills, begins immediately to the north of

, and is bounded from the east by the large

Sanningasoq Sanningasoq (old spelling: ''Sáningassoq'') is a large oligotrophic twin lake The long

Tasersuaq Tasersuaq (old spelling: ''Taserssuaq'') is a large lake in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The name of the lake means ''large lake'' in the Greenlandic language, and is a common name shared by several lakes in the country ...

lake in the west separates the highland 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 Switzerl ...

mountain group halfway between

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 John ...

and the Greenland ice sheet ( kl, Sermersuaq). The range flattens considerably to the northwest of Tarajornitsut, due to pressure exerted by the icesheet for long periods in the past. The entire region is part of the

biome, with the depressions and lakes being an important site for migrating birds, such as

geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

. The northern and northeastern part of the region is an important calving ground for the reindeer. The wetlands in the heart of Tarajornitsut dominate the depressions. Protected by the hills on the eastern side, they are deprived of wind blowing from the icesheet. Still water in these depressions is an incubator for billions of

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es during the summer season. Menyanthes trifoliata - Tarajornitsut-wetland-plants

The southern and southwestern edge of the region, north of Kangerlussuaq port, near the small Mount Evans hillock overlooking Kangerlussuaq Fjord is strewn with artifacts and trash dating from the era when the

Sondrestrom Air Base Sondrestrom Air Base, originally Bluie West-8, was a United States Air Force base in central Greenland. The site is located north of the Arctic Circle and from the northeast end of Kangerlussuaq Fjord (formerly known by its Danish name ''Søn ...

was still operational. Numerous rusting barrels, wooden platforms, and small wetland bridges left by the American Army are common in the area. The climate of the region is polar continental, and very stable due to considerable distance from the coast of Davis Strait, with the area receiving very little rainfall.

Nature reserve

Kangerlussuaq is one of the settlements in Greenland exhibiting stable population growth patterns over the past two decades, with a dynamically growing tourism industry, primarily thanks to the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

. Within the newly drafted development plan for the Kangerlussuaq area, the municipal authorities aim to establish a nature preserve in Tarajornitsut, with tourism channeled instead into the

Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua ( da, Sandflugtdalen) is a river and valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its source is the meltwater outflow from Russell Glacier, an outflow of the Greenland ice sheet. The ri ...

valley with Russell Glacier, and into the

Isunngua Isunngua (old spelling: ''Isúngua'') is a highland in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, located immediately west of the Greenland Ice Sheet edge. In large part it is covered by the tundra, although in the immediate vicinity ...

highland to the east, towards the icesheet.

Polar Route

The tough, long ''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 western reaches of Tarajornitsut, ending in Umiarsualivik on the shores of Kangerlussuaq Fjord, approximately west-south-west of Kangerlussuaq.

References

{{coord, 67, 03, N, 51, 00, W, display=title Highlands of Greenland Kangerlussuaq