Sullorsuaq Strait
Location within Greenland
Sullorsuaq Strait (old spelling: Suvdlorssuaq, Danish : Vaigat) is a strait on the western coast of Greenland.
Sullorsuaq Strait (old spelling: Suvdlorssuaq, Danish : Vaigat) is a strait on the western coast of Greenland.
The strait separates Nuussuaq Peninsula in the northeast from Qeqertarsuaq Island in the southwest. [1] The strait waterway connects inner Disko Bay in the southeast with Baffin Bay in the northwest. Qeqertarsuatsiaq Island is located in the northeastern mouth of the strait, where it opens into Baffin Bay. At the southeastern end, the large Alluttoq Island is located in the outlet of the strait, at the confluence with Disko Bay. [2]
Saqqaq is the only settlement in the area, located in the southern part on the shores of Nuussuaq Peninsula. The former coal mining settlement of Qullissat, founded in 1924, was located on the northeast coast of Disko Island and grew into one of Greenland's larger settlements. Qullissat was abandoned in 1972, and the entire northern coast of Disko Island is now uninhabited.
Archaeological excavations in Qilakitsoq on the northeastern shore revealed the existence of an ancient Arctic culture later named the Saqqaq culture, which is the archaeological designation of the earliest Palaeo-Eskimo culture of west and southeast part of Greenland. The natives inhabited the area of west-central Greenland between 2500 BCE and 800 BCE. [3]
Major landslides have struck Sullorsuaq Strait since prehistoric times, sometimes generating tsunamis or megatsunamis:
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.
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.
Disko Bay is a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aappilattoq is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on an island of the same name in the southern part of Upernavik Archipelago. Founded in 1805, the settlement had 149 inhabitants in 2020.
Nuussuaq Peninsula is a large peninsula in western Greenland.
Nunavik Peninsula is a large peninsula in northwestern Greenland. It separates two cultural and geographical regions of northwestern Greenland: Uummannaq Fjord region in the southeast, and Upernavik Archipelago in the north.
Qullissat 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 national resources of Disko Island. The mines operated for 48 years until 1972, when the economic base of the settlement collapsed, leading to its abandonment.
Kulusuk Island is an island in the Sermersooq municipality on the southeastern shore of Greenland. It is an outlying island in the Ammassalik archipelago of islands on the coast of the North Atlantic. The island is home to Kulusuk, the fourth-largest settlement on the entire eastern coast of Greenland. The island has an area of 41.98 km2, and measures 8 km (5.0 mi) from north to south and 11 km (6.8 mi) from west to east. The Kulusuk Airport on the island is one of the two airports on the entire eastern Greenland coast.
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.
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.
Torsukattak Strait is a strait in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Qeqertarsuatsiaq Island is an isolated and uninhabited island in the Avannaata municipality, in Baffin Bay off the western shore of Greenland.
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.
Inussulik Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Itissaalik Island is a small, uninhabited island located in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Media related to Sullorsuaq Strait at Wikimedia Commons