Niaqornat | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 70°47′20″N53°39′50″W / 70.78889°N 53.66389°W | |
State | Kingdom of Denmark |
Constituent country | Greenland |
Municipality | Avannaata |
Government | |
• Mayor | Karl Kristian Kruse |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 35 |
Time zone | UTC−02:00 (Western Greenland Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−01:00 (Western Greenland Summer Time) |
Postal code | 3961 Uummannaq |
Niaqornat (Kalaallisut: "head-shaped") is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The settlement is located on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, with a wide view over Uummannaq Fjord. [2] It had 35 inhabitants in 2020. [3]
Fishing is the mainstay of the economy, with stocks of Atlantic cod, Greenland halibut and Greenland shark. A variety of mammal species are harvested: ringed seal, bearded seal, harp seal, hooded seal, and walrus. There is a seasonal catch of narwhal and beluga – on rare occasions pilot whales are caught. Capelin and fin whales have been observed at Niaqornat as late as in November in recent years. Like other settlements in northwestern Greenland, Niaqornat experiences the effects of global warming.[ citation needed ]
During spring a few polar bears are shot for meat. The catch includes reindeer,[ verification needed ] caribou, Arctic hare, grouse and various seabirds. Niaqornat represents a traditional hunting culture where both dog sleds and small dinghies are used during the hunting of the marine resources. The settlement is well situated for studies of narwhal, beluga, polar bear as well as other marine resources such as the ringed seal. Niaqornat is an example of a well functioning small settlement in which the inhabitants still live from harvesting the local living resources and it represents a continuation in modern times of the Greenlandic hunting culture. A fish factory was closed, but reopened as a co-operative in 2011.
Niaqornat only got electricity in 1988, however, the settlement is now able to communicate with the rest of the world via satellite and telephone and has access to the Internet. The settlement is in possession a 3 million litre water tank that supplies the settlement with fresh water from a lake in the mountain. There is also a community house where the inhabitants have access to a modern laundry and bath. The inhabitants have formed a local organisation that will work for attracting more tourists – especially from cruise ships. In 2007, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources – which has its main office further south, in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland – established a field station in Niaqornat. In November 2007 there were nine pupils in the local school.
Air Greenland serves the village as part of government contract, with mostly cargo helicopter flights from Niaqornat Heliport to the local hub in Uummannaq. [4] There are no direct flights to Qaarsut Airport located in Qaarsut, a village 37 km southwest of Niaqornat on the same shore of Nuussuaq Peninsula. All passengers must therefore transfer in Uummannaq Heliport.
The population of Niaqornat has dropped by nearly a third relative to the 1990 levels, and by nearly a quarter relative to the 2000 levels, reflecting a general trend in the region. [5] A November 2015 edition of National Geographic reported 50 inhabitants. [6]
Filmmaker Sarah Gavron has documented the life of the hamlet in Village at the End of The World (released 2013) [7]
Uummannaq is a town in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763 as Omenak, the town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry. In 1932, the Universal Greenland-Filmexpedition with director Arnold Fanck released the film S.O.S. Eisberg near Uummannaq.
Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland. It has a roughly south-east to west-north-west orientation, emptying into the Baffin Bay in the northwest.
Aasiaat or Ausiait, formerly Egedesminde, is a town in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located on its namesake island in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay. With a population of 2,980 as of 2021, it is Greenland's fifth-largest town.
Kangaatsiaq is a town located in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland. The town received town status as recently as 1986, though as a settlement it has existed much longer. It has 507 inhabitants as of 2023. Nearby settlements are Attu, Niaqornaarsuk, Ikerasaarsuk and Iginniarfik.
Ikerasak is a village in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. It had 233 inhabitants in 2020.
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.
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.
Saattut is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland. Located on small Saattut Island, southeast of Appat Island and northeast of Uummannaq in the Uummannaq Fjord system, the settlement had 226 inhabitants in 2020.
Qaarsut is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland. It is situated on the northeastern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula. It had 174 inhabitants in 2020.
Ukkusissat is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland. The population of the settlement was 154 in 2020. The name means soapstone.
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.
Qaarsut Airport is an airport in Qaarsut, a settlement on the Nuussuaq Peninsula in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is a primary airport with a gravel runway, capable of serving STOL aircraft of Air Greenland in all seasons. There is a small cafeteria in the tiny arrivals/departures hall. It is connected by a 4 km (2.5 mi) gravel road to Qaarsut and is 13.5 nautical miles northwest of Uummannaq.
Uummannaq Heliport is a heliport in Uummannaq, a town located on Uummannaq Island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. There are no facilities in the heliport.
Niaqornat Heliport is a heliport in Niaqornat, a village on the northeastern shore of Nuussuaq Peninsula in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The heliport is considered a helistop, and is served by Air Greenland as part of a government contract.
Salliaruseq Island is an uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. At 130 km2 (50.2 sq mi), it is one of the larger islands in the Uummannaq Fjord system, located in its central part due east of Uummannaq Island.
Appat Island is an uninhabited island in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. At 211 km2 (81.5 sq mi), it is one of the larger islands in the Uummannaq Fjord system, located in its north-central part. It is the site of the former settlements of Ritenbenck and Qaqortuatsiaq.
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at approximately 71°50′N56°00′W to the southern end of Melville Bay in the north at approximately 74°50′N57°30′W.
Assorput Strait is a strait in the Uummannaq Fjord system in northwestern Greenland. It separates Uummannaq Island in the west from Salliaruseq Island in the east. The strait waterway connects inner Sarqarput Strait in the southern arm of Uummannaq Fjord in the south with the central arm of Uummannaq Fjord in the north.
Sarqarput Strait is a strait in the Uummannaq Fjord system in northwestern Greenland. It separates Uummannaq Island in the northeast from Nuussuaq Peninsula in the southwest. The strait waterway is part of the southern arm of Uummannaq Fjord, narrowing into Ikerasak Fjord in the southeast, at the base of Nuussuaq Peninsula. The Sarfaagfip Kussinnersua and Kuuk rivers flowing from the peninsular glaciers empty into the strait.
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.