Cape York (Greenland)

Last updated
Cape York
Perlernerit
Greenland edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Cape York
Coordinates: 75°54′38.3″N66°24′44.6″W / 75.910639°N 66.412389°W / 75.910639; -66.412389
Location Avannaata, Greenland
Offshore water bodies Baffin Bay
Area
  Total Arctic

Cape York (Greenlandic : Perlernerit) is a cape on the northwestern coast of Greenland, in northern Baffin Bay.

Contents

Geography

It is a pronounced projection. It delimits the northwestern end of 190-mile (310 km) Melville Bay, with the other end commonly defined as Wilcox Head, the western promontory on Kiatassuaq Island. [1] De Dodes Fjord and Sidebriksfjord are north of the cape, and the Crimson Cliffs to the west. [2]

A chain of small coastal islands stretches between Cape York and Cape Melville to the east, the largest of which is Meteorite Island. [3] The cape is 37 km (23 mi) west-south-west of Savissivik, the settlement on Meteorite Island.

There was one nearer permanent settlement, Perlernerit , approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northeast of the cape.

History

The cape was the one of many places visited in 1894 by Admiral Robert Peary during his second expedition to the Arctic. A way east across the bay is the island of discovery of the Cape York Meteorite fragments. In the Greenlandic language, the name of the settlement Savissivik on the island close to the cape means 'place of meteorite iron' (savik = iron/knife), [4] alluding to the numerous meteorites from 10,000 years ago that have been found in the area. [5] The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 100 tonnes before it exploded. [5] The iron from the meteorite attracted migrating Inuit from Arctic Canada. [5]

Photographs

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Peary</span> American Arctic explorer (1856–1920)

Robert Edwin Peary Sr. was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for, in April 1909, leading an expedition that claimed to be the first to have reached the geographic North Pole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scoresby Sound</span>

Scoresby Sound is a large fjord system of the Greenland Sea on the eastern coast of Greenland. It has a tree-like structure, with a main body approximately 110 km (68 mi) long that branches into a system of fjords covering an area of about 38,000 km2 (14,700 sq mi). The longest of the fjords extends 340–350 km (210-216 mi) inland from the coastline. The depth is 400–600 m (1,310-1,970 ft) in the main basin, but depths increase to up to 1,450 m (4,760 ft) in some fjords. It is one of the largest and longest fjord systems in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape York meteorite</span> Very large iron meteorite from Greenland

The Cape York meteorite, also known as the Innaanganeq meteorite, is one of the largest known iron meteorites, classified as a medium octahedrite in chemical group IIIAB. In addition to many small fragments, at least eight large fragments with a total mass of 58 tons have been recovered, the largest weighing 31 tonnes. The meteorite is named after the location where the largest fragment was found: 23 miles (37 km) east of Cape York, in Savissivik, Meteorite Island, Greenland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peary Land</span> Peninsula in northern Greenland

Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the northernmost point of Greenland's mainland, and Cape Bridgman in the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kullorsuaq</span> Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Kullorsuaq is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the northernmost settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located on Kullorsuaq Island at the southern end of Melville Bay, itself part of the larger Baffin Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuussuaq</span> Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Nuussuaq, formerly Kraulshavn, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the only mainland settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located near the western tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, on the northern coast of Sugar Loaf Bay, an indentation of Baffin Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kulusuk</span> Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Kulusuk, formerly Kap Dan, is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland, located on an island of the same name. The settlement population of 241 includes many Danes choosing to live there due to the airport. In the Kalaallisut language, the name of the village means "Chest of a Black Guillemot".

Savissivik or Havighivik (Inuktun) is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. Located on Meteorite Island, off the northern shores of Melville Bay, the settlement had 55 inhabitants in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etah, Greenland</span> Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Etah is an abandoned settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. It was a starting point of discovery expeditions to the North Pole and the landing site of the last migration of the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melville Bay</span> Bay in Avannaata, Greenland

Melville Bay, is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, Qimusseriarsuaq, means "the great dog sledding place".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qaasuitsup</span>

Qaasuitsup was a municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2017. As of January 2015, its population was 17,168. The administrative centre of the municipality was in Ilulissat.

Nuussuaq Peninsula is a mainland peninsula in northwestern Greenland, located at the northern end of Upernavik Archipelago, approximately 70 km (43 mi) to the south of Melville Bay. It is much smaller than its namesake in western Greenland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiatassuaq Island</span>

Kiatassuaq Island is an uninhabited island in the northern Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It marks the southern border of Melville Bay.

Inussulik Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kullorsuaq Island</span>

Kullorsuaq Island is an island in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The name of the island means "a big thumb" in the Greenlandic language.

Meteorite Island is an island in Baffin Bay, in Avannaata municipality, off NW Greenland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inglefield Gulf</span> Fjord in northwestern Greenland

Inglefield Gulf or Inglefield Fjord is a fjord in northwestern Greenland. To the west, the fjord opens into the Baffin Bay. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hart Glacier (Greenland)</span> Glacier in northwestern Greenland

Hart Glacier, is a glacier in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Cannon</span>

Cape Cannon is a headland in the Lincoln Sea, Arctic Ocean, North Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melville Land</span>

Melville Land is an area in Peary Land, North Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.

References

  1. Upernavik Avannarleq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
  2. "De Dødes Fjord". Mapcarta. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  3. 1:1,000,000 scale Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet B-8, 3rd edition
  4. quarkexpeditions.com [ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 "Lured by iron meteorite". Suluk. Air Greenland. 4: 6. 2010.