Wolstenholme Fjord ( kl, Uummannap Kangerlua)
is a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
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, Northwest
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 located to the north of the
Thule Air Base
Thule Air Base (pronounced or , kl, Qaanaaq Mitarfik, da, Thule Lufthavn), or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Space Force's northernmost base, and the northernmost installation of the U.S. Armed Forces, located north o ...
and adjacent to the abandoned
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
settlement of
Narsaarsuk
Narsaarsuk (old spelling: ''Narssârssuk'') is an abandoned settlement on the edge of Bylot Sound in northern Greenland near Thule Air Base. The site of the former settlement is contaminated with plutonium after the 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash ...
.
The area was contaminated in 1968 with
plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
and other radioactive elements following a
B-52 bomber crash.
Geography
Wolstenholme Fjord is located in the stretch of coast between
Cape York and
Cape Alexander
Cape Alexander () is a cape which forms the south end of Churchill Peninsula and the east side of the entrance to Cabinet Inlet, on the east coast of Graham Land. It was charted by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and photographe ...
. Together with the
Inglefield Gulf
Inglefield Gulf or Inglefield Fjord ( da, Inglefield Bredning; kl, Kangerlussuaq) is a fjord in northwestern Greenland. To the west, the fjord opens into the Baffin Bay. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality.
Inglefield Gulf ...
it is one of the two main indentations in the area.
[''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute,'' p. 77]
Saunders Island,
Wolstenholme Island
Wolstenholme Island ( kl, Qeqertarssuaq) is an island in Baffin Bay, in Avannaata municipality, off northwestern Greenland.
The island lies west of the Bylot Sound off Cape Atholl in the southern shore of the mouth of Wolstenholme Fjord, south o ...
and the
Bylot Sound
The Bylot Sound is a sound in the North Star Bay, Avannaata municipality, northwest Greenland.
Geography
This channel separates Saunders Island and Wolstenholme Island from the Greenland mainland. Its minimum width is , between Wolstenholme Isl ...
lie at the mouth of the Fjord in
North Star Bay
North Star Bay ( da, North Star Bugt), also known as Thule Harbor and Wolstenholme Bay, is a bay off the mouth of Wolstenholme Fjord, Greenland.
The bay is named after HMS ''North Star''. Thule Air Base is located at the edge of the bay. There ...
. Further to the west on the northern shore lies the
Granville Fjord
Granville Fjord ( kl, Iterlassuaq) is a fjord in Avannaata municipality, Northwest Greenland.
Geography
Granville Fjord is located in Steensby Land, in the stretch of coast between Cape York (Greenland), Cape York and Cape Alexander, Greenland, Ca ...
.
The fjord's waters are fed by four large glaciers: the
Salisbury Glacier
The Salisbury Glacier ( kl, Pinguarsuit Sermiat) is a glacier in Greenland. Geography
This glacier is located in the far northwest of Greenland, to the north of the Thule Air Base. It is one of four large glaciers which feeds the Wolstenholme Fj ...
, the
Chamberlin Glacier, the
Knud Rasmussen Glacier
The Knud Rasmussen Glacier is located in the far northwest of Greenland, to the north of the Thule Air Base. It is one of four large glaciers which feeds the Wolstenholme Fjord (sometimes referred to as "the world's largest ice machine"). The other ...
, and the
Harald Moltke Glacier
The Harald Moltke Glacier ( kl, Sermersuak) is a glacier in Greenland. Geography
The Harald Moltke Glacier is located in the far northwest of Greenland, to the north of the Thule Air Base. It is one of four large glaciers which feeds the Wolstenh ...
.
See also
*
List of fjords of Greenland
This is a list of the most important fjords of Greenland:In Northern Greenland, a large area made up entirely of fjords; therefore Peary Land above not a fjord but a fjord area.In Northeastern Greenland, a large area made up entirely of fjor ...
*
Saunders Island, Greenland
Saunders Island ( kl, Appat; da, Saunders Ø) is an island in North Star Bay, Baffin Bay in the Avannaata municipality of northwest Greenland. The island is named after Commander James Saunders of the British Royal Navy.
Geography
The isl ...
Further reading
* Svend Funder,
Late Quaternary Stratigraphy and Glaciology in the Thule Area, Northwest Greenland'
* United States. Defense Mapping Agency, United States. Naval Oceanographic Office,
Sailing Directions for West Coast of Greenland, Volumes 16-968', PP 338 - 339
* Steven J. Mock,
Fluctuations of the terminus of the Moltke Glacier', Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.), P 2
References
Fjords of Greenland
{{Greenland-fjord-stub