Paatusoq

Paatusoq
Location of Paatusoq
Paatusoq Location in Greenland
Location	Arctic (SE Greenland)
Coordinates	60°47′N43°0′W / 60.783°N 43.000°W / 60.783; -43.000 Coordinates: 60°47′N43°0′W / 60.783°N 43.000°W / 60.783; -43.000
Ocean/sea sources	North Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries	Greenland
Max. length	55 km (34 mi)
Max. width	2.5 km (1.6 mi)

Paatusoq, mentioned as 'Patursok' by Wilhelm August Graah, ^[1] is a fjord in the King Frederick VI Coast, Kujalleq municipality, southeastern Greenland. ^[2] Its name means "The one with the big mouth" in the Greenlandic language. ^[3]

Geography

Paatusoq Fjord extends in a roughly east–west direction for about 55 km (34 mi) between the Danell Fjord to the north and the Kuutseq Fjord to the south. To the east the fjord opens into the North Atlantic Ocean 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Cape Discord. There are two rocks awash in its mouth and Qasingortoq, a 355-metre-high (1,165 ft) point marks its entrance. Danell Fjord lies close to the north, running parallel to Paatusoq. ^[4]

Paatusoq has a short branch midway into its southern shore at about 23 km (14 mi) from the fjord's mouth with a glacier reaching down to the waterline.

Mountains

In the western part of Paatusoq the mountain ranges on both sides of the fjord rise steeply from the shore to heights of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The massive succession of mountains on the northern side culminates in Mount Paatusoq (Patuersoq), a magnificent ultra-prominent peak at 60°52′55″N43°44′56″W / 60.88194°N 43.74889°W / 60.88194; -43.74889 towering to a height of 2,488 m (8,163 ft) above the glacier at the head of the fjord. ^[5] This mountain is marked as a 8,238-foot-high (2,511 m) peak in the Defense Mapping Agency Greenland Navigation charts. ^[6]

Map of Greenland section showing Paatusoq.

See also

• List of fjords of Greenland
• List of Ultras of Greenland

Bibliography

• The Lost Gardar Intrusion: Critical Metal Exploration at the Paatusoq Syenite Complex, South East Greenland

References

1. W. A. Graah, Narrative of an expedition to the East coast of Greenland, p. 69
2. Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute, p. 100
3. Greenland Pilot; Explanations of the place names
4. "Paatusoq". Mapcarta. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
5. GoogleEarth
6. 1:1,000,000 scale Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet D-16

External links

• Den grønlandske Lods - Geodatastyrelsen
• The Magmatic and Fluid Evolution of the Motzfeldt Intrusion in South Greenland: Insights into the Formation of Agpaitic and Miaskitic Rocks
• Ketilidian structure and the rapakivi suite between Lindenow Fjord and Kap Farvel, South-East Greenland
• The Ketilidian orogen of South Greenland: geochronology, tectonics, magmatism, and fore-arc accretion during Palaeoproterozoic oblique convergence
• Photographs just in from Paatusoq site 22 September 2014