Bessel Fjord () is a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...
in northwestern
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
.
Administratively it belongs to the
Avannaata
Avannaata (, ) 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 the south, Avannaata is flanked ...
municipality.
Knud Rasmussen
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies) ...
described the fjord entrance in the following terms:
Geography
Bessel Fjord stretches roughly from north to south for about 60 km. It is a long and narrow fjord lined with high mountains rising steeply from the shore.
Hannah Island, a small island, lies in the area of its mouth by the
Kennedy Channel
Kennedy Channel (; ; ) is an Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's most northerly island, Ellesmere Island.
It was named by Elisha Kane around 1854 during his second Arctic voyage in search of the lost Franklin expedition. It is no ...
,
Cape Bryan
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
is on the western side of the mouth and
Cape Maynard on the northeastern.
[''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute,'' p. 93]
This fjord is located northeast of
Washington Land
Washington Land is a peninsula in northwestern Greenland. It is a part of the Avannaata municipality.
Washington Land was explored in the 19th century. Traditionally it was one of the hunting grounds of the Inuit, but there are archaeological rem ...
, at the northern end of
Daugaard-Jensen Land. The
Petermann Peninsula Petermann may refer to:
Places Antarctica
*Petermann Island
* Petermann Ranges (Antarctica)
Australia
*Petermann, Northern Territory, a locality
*Petermann Orogeny, a geological feature
* Petermann Ranges (Australia)
Greenland
*Petermann Glaci ...
forms its eastern shore. There are large
ice cap
In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets.
Description
By definition, ice caps are not constrained by topogra ...
s on both landmasses flanking the fjord.
Bibliography
*H.P. Trettin (ed.), ''Geology of the Innuitian Orogen and Arctic Platform of Canada and Greenland''. Geological Survey of Canada (1991)
See also
*
List of fjords of Greenland
This is a list of the most important fjords of Greenland:In Greenland, Northern Greenland, a large area made up entirely of fjords; therefore Peary Land above not a fjord but a fjord area.In Greenland, Northeastern Greenland, a large area made ...
References
External links
Greenland place names and spelling, by T. Higgins
Fjords of Greenland
{{Greenland-fjord-stub