Bernstorff Fjord

Last updated
Bernstorff Fjord
Kangertittivaq
Bernstorff Isfjord
Odinland Greenland.jpg
NASA picture with the Bernstorff Fjord in the bottom half
Greenland edcp relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Bernstorff Fjord
Location in Greenland
Location Arctic
Coordinates 63°42′N41°10′W / 63.700°N 41.167°W / 63.700; -41.167 Coordinates: 63°42′N41°10′W / 63.700°N 41.167°W / 63.700; -41.167
Native nameKangertittivaq  (Greenlandic)
Ocean/sea sources North Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries Greenland

Bernstorff Fjord (Danish : Bernstorff Isfjord; Greenlandic : Kangertittivaq) [1] is a fjord in King Frederick VI Coast, eastern Greenland.

Contents

Administratively it is part of the Sermersooq municipality. The fjord was named after Danish statesman Andreas Peter Bernstorff. This fjord is almost always blocked by heavy ice. [2]

History

One of the coastal islands, Igdluluarssuk (Sattiaatteq) at the entrance of the fjord on its southern side, had had the northernmost Inuit settlement of the southern group on the east coast in the recent past. [3]

Arctic explorer Wilhelm August Graah of the Danish Navy explored this area in 1828–30, during an expedition in search of the legendary Eastern Norse Settlement. [4]

Geography

Bernstorff Fjord
Map of Bernstorff Fjord

To the east the Bernstorff Fjord opens into the Irminger Sea (North Atlantic Ocean). It separates the Odinland Peninsula with its SE end, Cape Møsting to the north, [2] from the Thorland Peninsula and Cape Moltke to the south of the fjord. [5] A single island, Ensomheden, is located within the fjord about 33 kilometres (21 miles) from its mouth. [6]

The Storebjorn, Bernstorff, Fimbul and Sleipner glaciers at the head of this fjord produce massive amounts of ice. [7] The Ydun Glacier, Gerd Glacier and Gymer Glacier are smaller glaciers flowing from Odinland into the northern shore of Bernstorff Fjord. The constant glacier activity produces a powerful current streaming out of the fjord which, together with the numerous ice floes, makes navigation hazardous in the area between its mouth and Umivik Bay.

1944 map of the area around Skjoldungen. Skjoldungen v2-ed.jpg
1944 map of the area around Skjoldungen.

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord

Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord is a major fjord system in the NE Greenland National Park area, East Greenland.

Andrée Land (Greenland)

Andrée Land is a peninsula in King Christian X Land, East Greenland that is bounded by Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord, Isfjord and Geologfjord.

Wilhelm August Graah

Wilhelm August Graah (1793–1863) was a Danish naval officer and Arctic explorer. Graah had mapped areas of West Greenland when he, in 1828–30, was sent by King Frederick VI of Denmark on an expedition to the unmapped eastern coast with the purpose to search for the lost Eastern Norse Settlement.

Isfjord

Isfjord, meaning 'Ice Fjord' in the Danish language, is a fjord in King Christian X Land, eastern Greenland. The Isfjord is part of the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord complex in the area of the Northeast Greenland National Park.

Iluileq

Iluileq is an uninhabited island in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland.

Skjoldungen

Skjoldungen is a large uninhabited island in the King Frederick VI Coast, southeastern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Sermersooq municipality. The weather of the island is characterized by tundra climate.

Ensomheden

Ensomheden, meaning 'Loneliness' in the Danish language, is an uninhabited island in southeastern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Sermersooq municipality. The weather of the island is characterized by tundra climate.

Umivik Bay

Umivik Bay, also known as Umiivik and Umerik, is a bay in King Frederick VI Coast, southeastern Greenland. It is part of the Sermersooq municipality.

King Frederick VI Coast Region in Greenland

King Frederick VI Coast is a major geographic division of Greenland. It comprises the coastal area of Southeastern Greenland in Sermersooq and Kujalleq municipalities fronting the Irminger Sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by King Christian IX Land on the north and the Greenland Ice Sheet to the west.

Dannebrog Island

Dannebrog Island is an uninhabited island of the King Christian IX Land coast, Sermersooq municipality, southern Greenland.

Thorland

Thorland is a peninsula in the King Frederick VI Coast, southeastern Greenland. It is a part of the Sermersooq municipality.

Kangerluluk

Kangerluluk, meaning 'the awful fjord', is a fjord in the King Frederick VI Coast, Kujalleq municipality, southern Greenland.

Sehested Fjord

Sehested Fjord ) is a fjord of the King Frederick VI Coast in the Sermersooq municipality, southeastern Greenland.

Odinland

Odinland, also Odinsland in the Defense Mapping Agency Greenland Navigation charts, is a peninsula in the King Frederick VI Coast, southeastern Greenland. It is a part of the Sermersooq municipality.

Sleipner Glacier

Sleipner Glacier, is a glacier in eastern Greenland.

Kangerluk Fjord

Kangerluk, also known as Kangerluluarak, is a fjord in the King Frederick VI Coast, Kujalleq municipality, southern Greenland.

Cape Møsting

Cape Møsting is a headland in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast Greenland, Kujalleq municipality.

Cape Moltke

Cape Moltke is a headland in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast Greenland, Kujalleq municipality.

Graah Fjord

Graah Fjord, also known as Devold Fjord and Langenæs Fjord, is a fjord in King Frederick VI Coast, eastern Greenland.

References

  1. ↑ "Den grønlandske Lods - Geodatastyrelsen" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  2. 1 2 Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute, p. 102
  3. ↑ Encyclopedia Arctica 15: Biographies - Gustav Frederick Holm
  4. ↑ Graah, W. A. (1832). Undersøgelses-Reise til Østkysten af Grønland, efter kongelig Befaling udført i Aarene 1828-31[Exploration of the East Coast of Greenland, by royal order executed in the years 1828-31] (in Danish). Copenhagen.
  5. ↑ "Bernstorff Isfjord". Mapcarta. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Ensomheden". Mapcarta. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Evidence for the asynchronous retreat of large outlet glaciers in southeast Greenland at the end of the last glaciation
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.