Uummannaq or
Umanak is a town in the
QaasuitsupQaasuitsup is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. It consists of the former municipalities of western and northern Greenland, each named after the biggest settlement. These include: Kangaatsiaq, Aasiaat, Qasigiannguit, Ilulissat, Qeqertarsuaq, Uummannaq, Upernavik,...
municipality, in northwestern
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
. The town has a population of around 1,500 and is home to Greenland's most northerly ferry terminal. The town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry.
Geography
Uummannaq is located 590 kilometres north of the
Arctic CircleThe Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. In , it is the parallel of latitude that runs approximately 66° 33′ 39″ north of the Equator. The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south is called the Northern...
, on Uummannaq Island in
Uummannaq FjordUummannaq Fjord is a fjord in western Greenland. An inlet of the Baffin Bay, it separates the Nuussuaq Peninsula from mainland Greenland. There are many islands in the fjord, one of which is home to the town of Uummannaq.- External links :*...
separating mainland Greenland from
Nuussuaq Peninsula- Geography :The waters around the peninsula are that of Baffin Bay. To the south and southwest the peninsula is bounded by Disko Bay, an inlet of Baffin Bay. It is separated from Disko Island by Vaigat Sound which connects Disko Bay with Baffin Bay. To the northeast, it is bounded by the Uummannaq...
.
Uummannaq is also the general name given to the series of inlets north of the promontory at
NiaqornatNiaqornat is a settlement with 68 inhabitants in the Uummannaq area of the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. Niaqornat means “the head-shaped” in Greenlandic. The settlement is situated on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq Peninsula at ca. 70° 47' N - 53° 38' W...
on the Nuussuaq Peninsula. The island is also home to Uummannaq Mountain, rising very sharply to a height of 1170m. Climbing it requires technical skills. The mountain is heart-shaped. Indeed
Uummannaq is Greenlandic for "heart-shaped".
The commune contains the villages of
SaattutSaattut is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in western Greenland, with the population of 243...
,
IllorsuitIllorsuit is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in western Greenland, with the population of 99...
,
IkerasakIkerasak is a village in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland, with the population of 261 . It is located Location approximately 45 km from Uummannaq, at , on an island in the Uummannaq Fjord system.- Transport :...
,
QaarsutQaarsut, old spelling Qaersut, is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in western Greenland. It is situated on the northeastern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula. Approximate location is . Population is 200...
,
UkkusissatUkkusissat is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in western Greenland, with the population of 184...
,
NiaqornatNiaqornat is a settlement with 68 inhabitants in the Uummannaq area of the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. Niaqornat means “the head-shaped” in Greenlandic. The settlement is situated on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq Peninsula at ca. 70° 47' N - 53° 38' W...
and
NuugaatsiaqNuugaatsiaq is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. Population is 94...
.
Transport
Air GreenlandAir Greenland Inc. is the regional airline of Greenland, headquartered in Nuuk. It operates largely domestic services, with services to Copenhagen. It offers concessional air services to all communities in Greenland and operates charter, taxi and special flights, such as air ambulance and search...
operates air services to
QaarsutQaarsut, old spelling Qaersut, is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in western Greenland. It is situated on the northeastern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula. Approximate location is . Population is 200...
from
Uummannaq HeliportUummannaq Heliport is a heliport in Uummannaq, a town located on the Uummannaq Island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland.Neighboring Qaarsut Airport, located on Nuussuaq Peninsula on the other side of the Uummannaq fjord is the only direct connection available from Uummannaq,...
. The neighboring villages in the Uummannaq area are served by district cargo helicopters.
In popular culture
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
and Greenlandic children believe that
Santa ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
lives in Spraglebugten bay in the west of the island. A turf hut (
Santa's Castle) was built there for a Danish television programme and remains Santa's home in the popular imagination.
Notable residents
- Ole Jørgen Hammeken
- Career :He led the 2006 'Global Warming Dogsled Expedition' – a 500+ km journey up and over the Greenland Ice Sheet from Uummannaq Fjord to Ilulissat, intended to draw people's attention to climate change. In 2008, Hammeken completed a circumpolar voyage in a motorized open boat...
, polar explorer
- Hans Grøndvold, discoverer of the Greenlandic mummies
A mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs...
in QilakitsoqQilakitsoq is an archaeological site on the southwestern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula in western Greenland. Formally a settlement, it is famous for the discovery of eight mummified bodies in 1972. The bodies were found in an icy tomb and date to the 15th century AD...
- Siissisoq, a Greenlandic rockband
External links
www.atuarfik-uum.gl Villages in the Uummannaq area