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Ivittuut (formerly, Ivigtût) (
The area was settled by about twenty farms of Norsemen, a district called the "Middle Settlement" by modern archaeologists from its placement between the larger Western and Eastern Settlements. It is the smallest and least well known of the three, and no written records of its residents survive, for which reasons it is believed to have been established last (and abandoned first) of the three. Investigations show a presence after 985 and with occupation continuing up to at least the 14th century.
The town's cryolite deposit was discovered in 1799, and the veins of silver-bearing lead surrounding it were mined by the British engineer J.W. Tayler before the silver content was found to be too low to make the operation viable. Danish engineers began mining the cryolite itself in 1859, and in 1864 the Danish Kriolit Mine og Handels Selskabet was granted a monopoly on its extraction.Doody, Richard. ''The World at War''.
GREENLAND 1721 - 1953
. Accessed 28 Apr 2012. These early mines simply processed the cryolite for its direct aluminum content and for sale to the
The community was abandoned soon after. In 1924, it was a stopping place for the first aerial circumnavigation, during which new engines were installed in two American
Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to:
* Greenlandic language
* West Greenlandic
West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...
: "Grassy Place") is an abandoned mining town near Cape Desolation in southwestern Greenland, in the modern Sermersooq municipality on the ruins of the former Norse Middle Settlement.
Ivittuut is one of the few places in the world so far discovered to have naturally occurring cryolite (Na3AlF6, sodium aluminum fluoride), an important agent in modern aluminum extraction
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It h ...
.
History
The area was settled by about twenty farms of Norsemen, a district called the "Middle Settlement" by modern archaeologists from its placement between the larger Western and Eastern Settlements. It is the smallest and least well known of the three, and no written records of its residents survive, for which reasons it is believed to have been established last (and abandoned first) of the three. Investigations show a presence after 985 and with occupation continuing up to at least the 14th century.
The town's cryolite deposit was discovered in 1799, and the veins of silver-bearing lead surrounding it were mined by the British engineer J.W. Tayler before the silver content was found to be too low to make the operation viable. Danish engineers began mining the cryolite itself in 1859, and in 1864 the Danish Kriolit Mine og Handels Selskabet was granted a monopoly on its extraction.Doody, Richard. ''The World at War''.GREENLAND 1721 - 1953
. Accessed 28 Apr 2012. These early mines simply processed the cryolite for its direct aluminum content and for sale to the
Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company
Arkema S.A. is a publicly listed, multi-national manufacturer of specialty materials, headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France. It has three specialty materials segments (or divisions); adhesives, advanced materials and coatings. A furthe ...
, which used it to create caustic soda.
The 1884 establishment of the Hall-Heroult process, which depends on the rare cryolite but dramatically improved the extraction of aluminum from bauxite ore, increased the deposit's importance. The Ivittuut mining operations were a major factor in the American occupation of Greenland
The fall of Denmark in April 1940 left the Danish colony of Greenland an unoccupied territory of an occupied nation, under the possibility of seizure by the United Kingdom, United States or Canada. To forestall this, the United States acted to g ...
during World War II. After World War II, the cryolite was mined by the Danish firm Kryolitselskabet Øresund, which helped fund the establishment of ''Grønlandsfly'', today's Air Greenland.
Cryolite was eventually synthesized, reducing the importance of the mine, and production was finally found uneconomical and discontinued in 1987.arsukfjorden.glThe community was abandoned soon after. In 1924, it was a stopping place for the first aerial circumnavigation, during which new engines were installed in two American
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
aircraft.
Climate
Ivittuut holds the record for Greenland's highest recorded temperature of , recorded on 23 June 1915. The lowest recorded temperature was in February. Ivittuut has a tundra climate ( ET) bordering on asubarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
climate (Dfc), with July having an average of . Summertime temperatures are cool with chilly nights, and wintertime temperatures are very cold with frigid nights.
Transport
Ivittuut andKangilinnguit
Kangilinnguit or Kangilínguit, formerly Grønnedal , is a settlement and location of a former naval base in Greenland's Sermersooq municipality, located at the mouth of Arsuk Fjord in southwestern Greenland. The settlement had 160 inhabitants in ...
are connected by a road (which is roughly 5 km (3 mi) long).
See also
* History of GreenlandReferences
{{Authority control Ghost towns in Greenland Former populated places in Greenland Norse settlements in Greenland Populated places established in the 10th century Mines in Greenland Geological type localities