Torsuut Tunoq (old spelling: ''Torssuut Tunoq'') is a

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

on the southeastern coast of

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 an inner waterway of the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

Geography

The sound separates

Kulusuk Island Kulusuk Island ( kl, Kulusup qeqertaa) is an island in the Sermersooq municipality on the southeastern shore of Greenland.Tasiilaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 It is an outlying island in the Ammassalik archipelago of islands on the coast of the ...

in the south from

Apusiaajik Island Apusiaajik Island (old spelling: ''Apusiâjik'') is an uninhabited island in the Sermersooq municipality on the southeastern shore of Greenland.Tasiilaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 It is an outlying island in the Ammassalik archipelago of islan ...

in the northeast, and from the small ''Akinaaq'' island and smaller skerries in the northwest. The strait waterway connects

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 ...

in the northwest with the North Atlantic in the southeast, through the

Ikaasaartik Strait Ikaasaartik Strait (old spelling: ''Ikâsârtik'') is a strait in the Sermersooq municipality, on the southeastern coast of Greenland. Geography The strait separates Kulusuk Island in the southwest from Apusiaajik Island in the northeast. Th ...

.Tasiilaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 During winter

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 ...

and small

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

s pushed forth by the

East Greenland Current The East Greenland Current (EGC) is a cold, low- salinity current that extends from Fram Strait (~80N) to Cape Farewell (~60N). The current is located off the eastern coast of Greenland along the Greenland continental margin. The current cuts t ...

ram against the northeastern coast, blocking the narrow Ikaasaartik Strait and facilitating the freeze of the much wider Torsuut Tunoq sound. The tidewater

Apusiaajik Glacier Apusiaajik Glacier is a tidewater glacier on the uninhabited Apusiaajik Island in the Sermersooq municipality on the southeastern shore of Greenland.Tasiilaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 Tourism During summer, the glacier edge is a popula ...

drains into the sound in its northernmost part.

Settlement

Kulusuk Kulusuk (old spelling: ''Qulusuk''Eastgreenland.com.Kulusuk".), formerly Kap Dan, is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland, located on an island of the same name. The settlement population of 241 includes many Dane ...

is the only settlement in the area, located on an island of the same name on the southern coast of the sound.

Transport

The inhabitants of Kulusuk use

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

s and traditional dogsleds as additional means of transport during wintertime−families arriving at the

Kulusuk Airport Kulusuk Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Kulusuk) is an airport in Kulusuk, a settlement on an island of the same name off the shore of the North Atlantic in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. History The airstrip was built by US d ...

are ferried to the settlement on both, using the frozen waterway. In the summer, the cargo boats of

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 ...

connect Kulusuk and

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 ...

,Royal Arctic Line, schedule
providing an ''ad hoc'' alternative for the helicopter flights of

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 ch ...

. Polar cruises bound for, or returning from the coastal voyages in the Kangertittivaq fjord and the shores of Northeast Greenland National Park often visit the area on their way from/to Tasiilaq, albeit without anchoring in the harbour due to the shallowness of the coastal waters in the sound.

References

{{coord, 65, 36, 00, N, 37, 10, 30, W, scale:250000, display=title Sounds of North America Straits of Greenland