Qeqqata (Greenlandic pronunciation: [qɜqːata] , Danish : Centrum, lit. 'Centre') is a municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in the central-western part of the country. [4] Its population is 9,378 as of January 2020. [3] The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut (formerly called Holstensborg).
It consists of the previously unincorporated area of Kangerlussuaq and two former municipalities of western Greenland, Maniitsoq and Sisimiut.
In the south and east, the municipality is flanked by the Sermersooq municipality, although settlements and associated trade are concentrated mainly alongside the coast. In the north, it is bordered by the Qeqertalik municipality. The waters of the western coast are that of the Davis Strait, separating Greenland from Baffin Island. With an area of 115,500 km2 (44,594.8 sq mi), it is the third-smallest municipality of Greenland.
Qeqqata's municipal council consists of 15 members, elected every four years. [5]
Election | Party | Total seats | Turnout | Elected mayor | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | D | IA | N | S | |||||||||
2008 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 59.7% | |||||||
2013 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 57.6% | Hermann Berthelsen (S) | ||||||||
2017 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 61.1% | Malik Berthelsen (S) | |||||||
2021 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 63.8% | ||||||||
Data from Valg.gl |
Like all of Greenland, there are no roads between settlements. There are three airports in Qeqqata, Kangerlussuaq, Maniitsoq and Sisimiut, where Kangerlussuaq is the international hub for Greenland. Other settlements are served by boats.
A simple road for terrain vehicles exists between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut and was built in 2020-2021. [6] [7] [8]
Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It was Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport until the new airport opened at Nuuk on 28 November 2024. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and then Sondrestrom Air Base.
Kangerlussuaq Airport is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Nuuk Airport and Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only three civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large aircraft.
Maniitsoq or Sukkertoppen is a town on Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,534 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland.
Sisimiut, also known by its Danish name Holstensborg or Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America. It is located in central-western Greenland, on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately 320 km (200 mi) north of Nuuk.
Kangaamiut, formerly known as Gammel Sukkertoppen, is a settlement with a population of 293 (2020) in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland.
Itilleq is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It is located on a small island around 1 km from the mainland, 45 km south of Sisimiut and 2 km north of the Arctic Circle on the shores of Davis Strait. It had 89 inhabitants in 2020.
Sarfannguit is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its population was 96 in 2020. The settlement was founded in 1843. The town is located within the Aasivissuit – Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2018 for its outstanding archeological sites representing the human occupation of Greenland for over 4,000 years.
Sisimiut Airport is an airport located 2.2 NM northwest of Sisimiut, a town in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The airport has a single runway designated 13/31 which measures 799 by 30 m, built on the northern shore of Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay.
Sermersooq is a municipality in Greenland, formed on 1 January 2009 from five earlier, smaller municipalities. Its administrative seat is the city of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and it is the most populous municipality in the country, with 23,123 inhabitants as of January 2020.
Kangerlussuaq Fjord is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The fjord is 190 km (120 mi) long and between 1.5 km (0.93 mi) and 8 km (5.0 mi) wide, flowing from the estuary of Qinnguata Kuussua river to the southwest, and emptying into the Davis Strait. It is the longest fjord of western Greenland.
Amerloq Fjord is a 36 km (22 mi) long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord empties into the Davis Strait just south of Sisimiut, whose former Inuit name was also "Amerloq".
Alanngorsuaq is a 411-metre-high (1,348 ft) mountain in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. It is located on the mainland of Greenland in Sisimiut valley, approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the town.
Kangerlussuatsiaq Fjord is a fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. Taking its source in the tidewater glaciers draining the Maniitsoq ice cap, the fjord flows in a deep canyon through a mountainous, uninhabited region, emptying into Davis Strait near the settlement of Kangaamiut.
Kangaamiut Kangerluarsuat Fjord is a fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord is located halfway between the lower runs of the long Kangerlussuaq Fjord in the north, and Kangerlussuatsiaq Fjord in the south, emptying into Davis Strait.
Maniitsoq Ice Cap is a 58 km × 41 km ice cap in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland.
Tarajornitsut is an uninhabited tundra highland in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, within the bounds of Kangaamiut dike swarm. The highland has many lakes, shallow valleys, hills, and wetlands, with plentiful wildlife, such as arctic geese. It is also a major calving ground for reindeer. In the future the area will become a protected nature reserve. The Polar Route from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq ends in Tarajornitsut, on the shore of Kangerlussuaq Fjord.
KNI A/S or Greenland Trade is a trading conglomerate in Greenland. It is the successor to the Royal Greenland Trading Department, which controlled the government of Greenland itself from 1774 to 1908 and possessed a monopoly on Greenlandic trade from 1776 to 1950. Today, the company remains a major component of the Greenlandic economy and remains fully owned by the local government. The company is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Greenland's second-largest city, located in mid-western Greenland's Qeqqata Municipality.
Malik Berthelsen is a Greenlandic politician serving as the mayor of Qeqqata, chairman of the Qeqqata municipal council, and a former member of the Parliament of Greenland, the Inatsisartut.