Ukkusissat (, old spelling: ''Uvkusigssat'') is a settlement in
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 ...
. The population of the settlement was 154 in 2020. The name means
soapstone
Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...
.
Geography
![Ukkusissat-aerial-view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ukkusissat-aerial-view.jpg)
The settlement abuts the northwestern tip of the peninsula of the same name, jutting from the mainland to the west and northwest and into the inner waterways of 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 nor ...
system.
To the north of the settlement,
Perlerfiup Kangerlua, a large inner fjord empties into the main branch of Uummannaq Fjord.
To the south and southwest across
Torsukattak Strait
Torsukattak Strait (old spelling: ''Torssukátak'') is a strait in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Geography
Located in the northeastern part of Uummannaq Fjord, it separates the Ukkusissat Peninsula in the northeast from ...
are the high mountains of the
Salleq Island and the much larger
Appat Island
Appat Island (old spelling: ''Agpat'') is an uninhabited[No ...](_blank)
, alongside the flat Qeqertat
skerries.
History
Ukkusissat was founded in 1794 as an ousted or trading place. In 1798 there were 28 people living in Ukkusissat but it only was occupied continuously from the 1800s. In 1805 the town had only 18 inhabitants.
Economy
![Ukkusissat-harbour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Ukkusissat-harbour.jpg)
Fishing is the main occupation in Ukkusissat, with the fish processing plant located at the harbour; many inhabitants employed at
Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland, spun off from Kalaallit Niuerfiat in 1990 but still wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processi ...
. Reinvigoration of
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
activities in the nearby
Maamorilik
Maamorilik (old spelling: ''Mârmorilik'' or ''Maarmorilik'', also ''Black Angel Mine'') is a mining site in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Holding resources of zinc, iron, lead, and silver, the mine is long, with its entr ...
site−located northeast of the settlement on the northern side of Perlerfiup Kangerlua−will provide an economic boost to the local economy.
The community in Ukkusissat is served by
Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq is a chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, a major division of the Parliament of Greenland, state-owned KNI (Greenland Trade), KNI conglomerate. Like its parent company, it is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), the list of ...
, an all-purpose communal store. Tourism is underdeveloped, although during summer the settlement is visited by cruise ships, such as
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
's
Hurtigruten
''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...
.
Hurtigruten.co.uk
The harbour in Ukkusissat cannot handle large ships due to shallow coastal waters.
Transport
Air
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 ...
serves the village as part of government contract, with flights between Ukkusissat Heliport and Uummannaq Heliport
Uummannaq Heliport is a heliport in Uummannaq, a town located on Uummannaq Island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. There are no facilities in the heliport.
Airlines and destinations
Air Greenland operates government contr ...
. Check-in for the helicopter flights is administered at Pilersuisoq.
Ground
In mid-winter, the only means of communication with Uummannaq and other settlements of the area is by dogsled
A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the ...
, as district helicopters do not service the settlement at that time of year.
Population
The population of Ukkusissat has dropped by more than 12 percent relative to the 1990 levels, and by more than a quarter relative to the 2000 levels, decreasing in nearly every year of the last decade, and reflecting a general trend in the region.[Statistics Greenland](_blank)
Photographs
File:Ukkusissat-ochre-houses.jpg, Houses and laundry in mid-summer
File:Ukkusissat-vista.jpg, Pellerfiup Nunaa
File:Ukkusissat-officialdom.jpg, Katersortarfiat, a "public house" used for parties, dancing, and other entertainment
File:Ukkusissat-pilersuisoq-hunting-guns.jpg, Hunting guns in Pilersuisoq
File:Ukkusissat-peninsula.jpg, Akuliarutsip Qaqaa. on the Ukkusissat Peninsula mountain range, view from Sermikassaq
References
External links
sermitsiaq.gl
''Ukkusissat: Greenland masters in hospitality'' by Malik Milfeldt
{{Authority control
Populated places in Greenland
Populated places of Arctic Greenland
Avannaata
Uummannaq Fjord
Populated places established in 1794