Qullissat

Last updated
Qullissat
Qllissat 3.jpg
A house in 2008, 36 years after the settlement was abandoned. The house was damaged by the 2000 tsunami.
Greenland edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Qullissat
Location within Greenland
Coordinates: 70°05′04″N53°00′35″W / 70.08444°N 53.00972°W / 70.08444; -53.00972
StateFlag of Denmark (state).svg  Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland
Municipality Qeqertalik
Founded1924
Abandoned1972
Time zone UTC-03

Qullissat (old spelling: Qutdligssat) [1] is a former settlement in the Qeqertalik municipality, located on the northeast coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. It was a coal mining town founded to exploit the natural resources of Disko Island. The mines operated for 48 years until 1972, when the economic base of the settlement collapsed, leading to its abandonment.

Contents

Geography

Qulissat was located on the northeastern coast of Disko Island (Greenlandic : Qeqertarsuaq) on the shores of Sullorsuaq Strait (known in Danish as Vaigat Strait), facing the Nuussuaq Peninsula, which lies on the other side of the 20-kilometre (11 nmi; 12 mi) wide strait.

History

Old waterworks Qllissat 2.jpg
Old waterworks

Qullissat was not a traditional Inuit settlement, but was founded in 1924 as a coal mining town. By 1952, it had a population of 995, making it Greenland's third-largest settlement, and had become a cultural hub[ clarification needed ]. [2]

On 15 December 1952, a landslide with a volume of 5,900,000 cubic metres (7,700,000 cu yd) on the slope of the mountain Niiortuut 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Qullissat generated a tsunami in Sullorsuaq (or Vaigat) Strait. The wave struck a group of four fishermen 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away on the southern coast of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, killing one of them, then struck Qullissat, where it had a run-up height of 2.2 to 2.7 metres (7 ft 3 in to 8 ft 10 in) and inflicted minor damage. [2]

In 1960 Nanok Idraetslag, a football team from Qullissat, were crowned champions of the 1959–60 Greenlandic Football Championship.

By 1966 the mine was producing 40,000 tonnes (39,000 long tons; 44,000 short tons) of coal a year and the town had a population of 1,400, making it the sixth-largest population centre in Greenland. [3] The coal mine attracted a multinational population, with Danes, Swedes, and British people working in the mines. [4]

The Greenland Provincial Council voted to close the mine in 1966 due to falling profits and demand, the poor quality of the coal, and the need for a larger labour force in the cod fishing industry. [3] Residents were to be moved after a relocation plan was completed. [3] The mine was eventually closed on 4 October 1972, despite the fact that the cod industry had collapsed in the interim. [3] By then 700 residents had already moved, and the remaining 500 were compulsorily relocated. Kuupik Kleist, later Prime Minister of Greenland, was born in Qullissat in 1958 and was the last person to be confirmed there before the settlement was abandoned in 1972. [4]

The town was sold on 20 October 1972 to an entrepreneur, who demolished the site. The town's church was spared and relocated to nearby Ilulissat. [3]

On 21 November 2000 a large landslide at Paatuut, 20 kilometres (11 nmi; 12 mi) away across Sullorsuaq (or Vaigat) Strait on the Nuussuaq Peninsula, generated a tsunami which hit the former site of Qullissat. The tsunami had a run-up height of 28 metres (92 ft) [5] and reached more than 100 metres (328 ft) inland. It would have cost many lives had the town still been inhabited.

The Greenlandic rock band Sumé made the mining town's demise the topic of a song called "Qullissat" on their 1974 album Inuit Nunaat.

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megatsunami</span> Very large wave created by a large, sudden displacement of material into a body of water

A megatsunami is a very large wave created by a large, sudden displacement of material into a body of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilulissat</span> City in Greenland

Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately 350 km (220 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the third-largest city in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut. The city is home to almost as many sled-dogs as people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disko Island</span> Island in Baffin Bay, Greenland

Disko Island is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area of 8,578 km2 (3,312 sq mi), making it the second largest of Greenland after the main island and one of the 100 largest islands in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uummannaq Island</span> Small island in Avannaata municipality, Greenland

Uummannaq Island is a small island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Located in the south-central part of the Uummannaq Fjord, it is home to the most prominent mountain on the Arctic coast of western Greenland and to Uummannaq, the largest town north of Ilulissat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disko Bay</span> Bay on the western coast of Greenland

Disko Bay is a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of 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. It is most famously known as the official halfway point between Saskatoon and Helsinki as decided in the 2023 Concorde Drive halfway challenge. The settlement was founded in 1923 as a trading station, growing in size during the post-war consolidation phase, when hunters from several small villages in the region of neighboring Inussulik Bay, Sugar Loaf Bay, and Tasiusaq Bay moved into the larger settlements such as Nuussuaq and Kullorsuaq further north in Melville Bay. Today Nuussuaq remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland, with a stable population. The settlement had 181 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 4000 years.

Saqqaq is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. Founded in 1755 as Solsiden, Saqqaq had 132 inhabitants in 2020. The village's Kalaallisut name is a translation of the Danish meaning "Sunny Side", in reference to its position relative to Livets Top.

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

Qeqertaq is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located on an island off the southern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula in an inlet of Sullorsuaq Strait. Founded in 1830 as Øen, the settlement had 114 inhabitants in 2020.

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

Oqaatsut, formerly Rodebay or Rodebaai, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in western Greenland. It had 29 inhabitants in 2020. The modern name of the settlement is Kalaallisut for "Cormorants". The village is served by the communal all-purpose Pilersuisoq store.

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

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.

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

Alluttoq Island is a large 655 km2 (252.9 sq mi), uninhabited island in Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located in the northern part of Disko Bay, in the outlet of the Sullorsuaq Strait, east of Disko Island.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuussuaq Peninsula</span> Peninsula in western Greenland

Nuussuaq Peninsula is a large peninsula in western Greenland.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuupik Kleist</span> Greenlandic politician (born 1958)

Jakob Edvard Kuupik Kleist is a Greenlandic politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Greenland between 2009 and 2013. A member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, he was the first Prime Minister not affiliated with Siumut.

Sullorsuaq Strait is a strait on the western coast of Greenland.

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.

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avannaata</span> Municipality of Greenland

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.

References

  1. ↑ Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
  2. 1 2 Svennevig, Kristian; Keiding, Marie; Korsgaard, Niels Jákup; Lucas, Antoine; Owen, Matthew; Poulsen, Majken Djurhuus; Priebe, Janina; Sørensen, Erik Vest; Morino, Costanza (10 February 2023). "Uncovering a 70-year-old permafrost degradation induced disaster in the Arctic, the 1952 Niiortuut landslide-tsunami in central West Greenland". sciencedirect.com. Science Direct. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Qullissat" Ilulissat Museum
  4. 1 2 "Suluk 2010 No.1" (PDF). Air Greenland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Dahl-Jensen, Trine; Larsen, Lotte; Pedersen, Stig; Pedersen, Jerrik; Jepsen, Hans; Pedersen, Gunver; Nielsen, Tove; Pedersen, Asger; Von Platen-Hallermund, Frants; Weng, Willy (2004). "Landslide and Tsunami 21 November 2000 in Paatuut, West Greenland". repec.org. Ideas. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
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.