1. Greenland - another
World
Part I

2. Kalaallit Nunaat means "the humans’ land”. The inuits call themselves
Kalaallit.
Most Greenlanders have both Kalaallit (Inuit) and Scandinavian
ancestry.
Greenland became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953.
All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free
coast, with the population (60 000) being concentrated along the West
and South coast.
Official Name:
Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat )
Capital:
Nuuk (Godthab)
Government Type:
Self-governing administrative
division of the Kingdom of
Denmark

3. Greenland, the world's
largest island, is a
self governed
province under the
rule of Denmark.
The island lies between
North Atlantic Ocean
and Arctic Ocean.
Greenland's total area
is 2 166 square
kilometers.
The island has 44 087
kilometers of
coastline. The lowest
point of the island is 0
meters and the
highest point is 3700
meters.
Qaanaaq

4. Kangerlussuaq airport, the international connection, on the southwest coast.

5. Disembarking at Kangerlussauq airport , on the West coast, 50 Km
North of the Arctic Circle

6. Air Greenland’s
helicopter fleet
does most of the
connection flights.
Taking off from the ice sheet

7. 1
The nature
Ice cap and Glaciers

8. The Greenland Ice Cap or Ice
Sheet is a vast body of ice
covering roughly 80% of the
surface of Greenland. It is the
second largest ice body in the
World, after the Antarctic Ice
Sheet.
The towns and villages where
most of the inhabitants live are
situated in the rocky coast, and
mainly in small portions of
fertile land of the west and
south.

9. The Greenland Ice Sheet
extends from 60º to 80º N, and
covers an area of 1.7 million
square km. With an average
thickness of 2000 m, it has a
total volume of about 3 million
cubic km – roughly equivalent
to a sea-level rise of 7 m.
It comprises a northern dome
and a southern dome, with
maximum surface elevations
of approximately 3200 m and
2850 m respectively, linked by
a long saddle with elevations
around 2500 m.
The Ice Cap

10. Northeastern view of the ice cap.

11. Nunataks (ice-free summits ) in East Greenland.
A Nunatak is an exposed peak, not covered with ice or snow, in an ice
field or glacier. Nunataks are reference points in glaciers or ice caps.

14. As the ice cap
recedes, strange
rock formations are
visible. These are
more typical of the
northeast coast.

15. The ice cap rises in some mountainous regions to 3000 m peaks.

16. Gunnbjørn Fjeld, peaking at 3733 m, is
Greenland's highest mountain: on the east
coast ,south of Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund)
- a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice.
Location 68° 55′ N 29° 54′ W

17. Gunnbjørn Fjeld is a nunatak.

19. The thickness is generally more than 2 km.

20. Supra-glacial lake on Helheim glacier. Greenland's Ice Sheet is undergoing
massive changes, including melted ice streams on the surface and pools of
melted water, increasing in size at an unprecedented rate .

21. The ice cap feeds glaciers that
run into fjords and form icebergs

23. There are thousands
of glaciers in
Greenland,
running east or
west from the ice
cap into the sea.
Flying over the
island, endless
glaciers are easily
spot.
In the past few years,
the glaciers of
Greenland have
been receding.
Normally icebergs
are calved from
the feet of these
glaciers all
summer long.

24. Glacier highway

25. It is difficult to appreciate the scale of a glacier. This one is about 2 Km wide.
When you see a distinct medial moraine like on the middle of this glacier, it
shows that it has been formed by two glaciers merging further up the valley.
Greenland has some of the fastest moving glaciers, up to 35 m a day.

26. The Knud Rasmussen glacier, on the east coast .
The peak on the left is 1400 metres high, the glacier is 2000 metres wide then
the height of the glacier is about 50 metres. This is on the Sermiligaq fjord, just
north of Kulusuk.

28. Because of some violent calving, this glacier is not safe to approach. At some
300 m, fearful rumbles, growls and thunderous roars warn caution.

29. Taterat glacier
Fed directly from the
Sukkertoppen
(Sugar Loaf) ice
pack, which is an
extension of the
central ice cap.
The weight of the ice
has depressed the
center of Greenland
so that if the ice
were to melt,
Greenland would
appear as a ring of
mountains
surrounding a new
sea.

31. Kangingussa glacier feeding Kangerlussuaq fjord.
175 km long, the Kangerlussuaq is one of the world’s longest fjords. The
Danes call it Sondre Stromfjord.
Fjords are left by the retreat of a glacier that has carved a U-shaped valley
to below the sea level.

32. Suggar Loaf, Kangerlussuaq.
The glaciers are still carving Kangerlussuaq fjord.

33. Eqi Glacier
Sunrise over the Eqi Glacier. With the clearing skies comes extreme cold,
you might notice the sea below the strip of land at the bottom left, ice is forming.
All around there are icebergs.

34. A terrace with a view of
the glacier plus a café
hut that houses Café
Victor
The Eqi Glacier
is about 80 km
(5 hours by
boat) North of
Ilulissat.

35. The Eqi is about 100 m high and 1 km wide

36. Eqi glacier calving – rather smoothly.

37. Ice fall air view

38. The Triplets mountains rises 2.000 meters about sea level in Eastgreenland
and can only be reached by helicopter or experienced mountaineers.

39. Tasermiut fjord in southern Greenland, extending northeasterly to the inland
ice cap. It is 70 km long.

40. Early July at the Ilulissat icefjord around midnight. Even when the nearby
village of Ilulissat is warm, the ice has an aircon effect and keeps the fjord
cold.

41. Icebergs are all around the coast…

42. Lots of arches…
( Icebergs calved from the glacier at Disko Bay, Ilulissat)

43. Fabulous shapes…

44. Wonderful blues…

45. And nice sailing through !
Red contrasting white against the deep blue…

46. Qooroq Ice Fjord, Narsarsuaq

47. 2
Greenland Fauna

48. Polar bears, called Nanoq by the Inuit, are the
world's largest land predators. Northern Greenland
is polar bear country, but the possibility that you will
sight any is extremely low.
The coat of arms
of Greenland is a
blue shield
featuring a silver
polar bear.

49. The North areas of
Qaanaaq and Sation
Nord are the most
visisted by polar bears.

50. The Musk Ox
All year round in the Kangerlussuaq area
live approx. 4 000 musk oxen.
The musk ox is a truly
artic animal. It lives
only in Greenland ,
North Canada and
Alaska

52. Greenlandic reindeer
There are good chances of
seeing reindeer on a hike
in the Greenlandic fells, in
particular in the area
around Uummannaq.
Arctic fox, white and grey

53. Arctic hares
Bearded seal

54. The artic wolf
Arctic Wolf

55. Whale
A Whale in a dive "shot" on Greenlands westcoast. It´s a Bowhead
Whale also known as the Greenland Whale.

56. The Narwhal, a “unicorn” whale. Most of the population occurs in the
eastern Canadian Arctic and west Greenland.

58. Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandica)
Earless seal native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean.

59. Gyrfalcon, the largest of all falcon species.

60. FulmarNorthern Fulmar, not a kind of seagull but more related to ducks and
penguins.

61. Puffins

62. Greelandish dogs.

63. Anyhow:
1 You WILL give blood in Greenland: Sisimiut, Kangerlussuaq, Ilulissat are hell !
2 They say mosquitoes are the one and only Royal Air Force of Greenland: they
are stealth bombers , silent!
3 Avoid tundra and wetland. In the icecap there are none.
4 Avoid Summer.
BEWARE OF MOSQUITOES !
The Arctic is plagued by these insects
in July and August. They are almost
enough to drive a person insane.
Superbly adapted to the Arctic, they
don’t whine like their more southerly
cousins .
Protection includes mosquito head net,
insect repellent containing Deet ,
and anti-histamine tablets like
Triludan..

64. Trees in Greenland:
Only planted, seeds don´t grow.
Trees in Qanasiassat
Pine (Pinus sylvestris) imported
from Norway
Felt-leaf willow (Salix
alaxensis), planted 1995 -
the proud owner in front.

65. Flora
Niviarsiaq,
‘little girl’ in
Inuit, is
Greenland’s
national
flower, to be
found all
around in
spring
See “The Valley of flowers” for more.

66. 3
The towns
The 60 000 greenlandic inhabitants live in coastal towns and
villages, and in small portions of fertile land of the south.
About 20% of the inhabitants are non-inuit, mostly from Europe.

67. “Ultima Thule”
The farthest north
Qaanaaq
Thule Air Base
(ex - Avannaa )

68. Welcome to Qaanaaq
Hotel Qaanaaq

69. Qaanaaq (pop. 650) is Greenland's most northern town. It can be reached
only by helicopter from Thule Air Base in about 45 minutes.

70. Qaanaaq, at more than 77 º north, represents one of the last frontiers and
the ideal base for polar expeditions in the wild ice cap.
From Europe, Qaanaaq can be reached only after a very long flight, with
overnight stop at Ilulissat. North America is a shorter distance away.

71. Temperature often falls to – 30 º.
The sea in front of the city is frozen most
of the year as far as the eye can see,

73. Qaanaaq’s symbol, a narwhal and a North Star.

74. Qaanaaq is also the world´s northernmost municipality. The original Thule
settlement (named so by Knud Rasmussen – the inuit name was Avannaa )
was forced to move further north to give room for the American Thule Air
Base, in 1953.

75. Remote and primitive, sparsely populated and lacking many of the
comforts of civilization …

76. Standard kit greenlandic house.

77. Inhabitants, a little over 600, are mainly hunters. They hunt by boat
during the summer period and by dogsled in the winter, mainly seals,
narwhals, sharks (for dog food) and fish (halibut).

78. Inuit woman stretches a
sealskin on a frame, to dry

79. Dried halibut for feeding dogs.

81. No other place in the arctic is it possible to find “Kayak men” hunting seal,
whale and walrus with hand-thrown harpoons from an original Eskimo kayak.
Here, the hunter controls his harpoon.

82. This harpoon
is placed on
the kayak,
prepared for
the Narwhale
hunt.

84. Life in Qaanaaq is hard due to isolation, few resources and lack of
commodities. The inuits never got used to relocation, and complaint of worse
conditions (cold, less hunt…) then before, in Avannaa.

85. Inuit boy in
Polar bear
pants

86. Seal skin
boots
Seal hunting is the
most important
source of income for
a large part of the
population.

87. Hunters leaving Qaanaaq with their dog teams.

89. Inuit hunter in fox skin
jacket and polar bear
pants.

90. Inuit hunter jumps a lead in summer sea ice. His huskies will follow.

92. Bear paw prints on the ice

95. An iceberg in the Northwest

96. Touchdown of skier plane at Thule airport, an U.S. air base.
The Base is equipped with 2 runways of 3,00 km, 7 avenues, 19 streets, a
376 m. radio tower, telecommunications center, power plants, hospital,
tennis courts, swimming pools, laundries, cinemas…a city´s facilities for
some 8000 US army personnel !

97. Wolstenholme fjord, the Thule Air Base, the Glaciers

98. Thule A.B., glaciers and mount Dundas.
Wolstenholme fjord , the only place on earth where 3 glaciers join
together ! ( the Knud Rasmussen at far right ).

99. Hart Glacier

100. Aerial view of glacier near Thule A.B.

101. The old settlement Avannaa
and the cemetery, at the base
of the Inuit sacred Dundas
Mountain

102. An elderly Qaanaaq Inuit
drum singer using a
traditional drum. Only the
rithm is hit.

103. The house of Knud Rasmussen, built at the foot of Dundas Mountain in the
beginning of last century, when he established the legendary Thule trading
station. This house was later moved to Qaanaaq, where it now serves as the
museum.

104. http://www.geocities.com/thetropics/resort/9292/usavaner.html

105. Arctic shades made from bone.

106. This meteorite, which is
almost completely metallic
(about 97% metal) was for
a long time the only source
of metal for the Inuit.

107. Thule Meteor,
Qaanaaq
museum.
A 48 kg meteorite
found in 1955 in a
nunatak east of
Thule A.B.

108. The North West
Upernavik
Uummannaq
Ilulissat

109. A ferry (shade on ice) approaches Upernavik, small town
on the far Northwest coast of Greenland..
Upernavik

110. This village, at 72º latitude, is the northernmost port of call on coastal
ferries. Houses are painted in bright rainbow colours that are lacking in
the surrounding landscape, in this case red, yellow and green.

111. The town was founded in 1772 as a Danish colonial station

112. The new church of Upernavik

114. During the summer months you can see the midnight sun, and the town’s
remote location makes it a destination for an unique experience.

115. Approximately 1100 live
here.
Air Greenland operates
air services to Upernavik.

118. The local radio station

120. Hotel Upernavik

122. The old church, now
part of the museum.

123. The museum buildings.

125. In 1824, a Viking Runestone was found outside Upernavik. It bears runic
characters left by Vikings, probably from the late 13th century.
This is the furthest north that any Viking artifacts have been found .

126. First day in class.

127. Upernavik choir in traditional clothes.

128. Disko Bay is one of
the most busy and
populated areas of
Greenland. Two
magnificent towns are
situated here:
Uummannaq and
Ilulissat.

129. Sunrise in Disko bay

130. The harbour seen as the ferry boat is leaving at low light. Uummannaq is
the "real" Greenland: a majestic and harsh landscape with tall mountains, rare
vegetation, many glaciers and icebergs.
It is dominated by the Heart Mountain, which has given the town its
greenlandic name, meaning "The Heart Shaped".
Uummannaq

131. Situated in the magnificent Disko Bay, it’s one of Greenland's northernmost
municipalities. 2800 people live here.

133. House with a view

135. The Hospital

137. The church isn't very old (1935) but it is an unusual design for Greenland
and was built from local granite.

139. According to the greenlandic tradition, Santa Claus lives in Greenland,
where he has built his Royal Castle, in the traditional Greenlandic style,
near the town of Uummannaq - 1 hour's walk away from the town .

140. The house is built from blocks of turf, but unlike traditional homes, this has
a green-painted wooden porch and windows.

141. Santa´s sledge
Santa’s huge postbox

142. Hotel
Uummannaq

143. View from Uummannaq hotel.

144. Uummannaq aerial view, in winter.

145. Qasigiannguit, Disko bay
(pop. 1 300)

146. Qasigiannguit (Christianshåb) is a small comunity located at the
shores of Disko Bay, with warm summers (up to 27º Celsius).

147. http://www.museum.gl/qasigiannguit/uk/saqqaa/index.htm
1752 building
1734 building
Qasigiannguit museum

148. Oldest house in Greenland (1734)

150. Ilulissat
• Town of the giant icebergs
• Home of the UNESCO designated
Ilulissat Ice Fiord.
• The third biggest town in Greenland.

151. Ilulissat, with about 5000 people and 6000 dogs, is located halfway up
the country's west coast, about 350 km north of the arctic circle .
Here you see the church and the museum.

152. The church and the Hospital, at right

153. The Hospital

154. Ilulissat , daily life down in the harbour.
Fishing halibut is the citys main industry, followed by tourism.

155. Gulls gather around a
fishing boat as the crew
clean their catch.
Fisherman mending
his nets in the harbour

158. Houses and icebergs and sled dogs.

161. Downtown in a winter sunny day

165. Dogs outnumber people in
Ilullissat, one of the main
centers for dog sledge tours.

166. Dog puppies are cute but get less friendly as they grow.

167. Itinerary for the dogsledge
tour out of Ilulissat.
Ilulissat
Glacier
A breathtaking
panorama of
snow, ice and
glaciers.

168. Eqi Glacier, 80 km north of Ilulissat
A cruise north aboard a small ship takes
to the remote wilderness surrounding
Ice Camp Eqi, situated right in front of
the calving Glacier.
Ice Camp Eqi
and Café Victor

169. A glacier you can approach

170. Hotel Arctic in Ilulissat with a good view to the icefjord.

171. Table overlooking Disko Bay.
At night a surreal midnight sun bathes outside dinner tables.

172. Hotel Arctic also offers accomodation in comfortable metal igloos !

173. Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen was born in Illulissat. Rasmussen was a
polar explorer and the first to cross the Northwest Passage in dog sled, his
base being named Thule after an ancient mith.
He remains well known in Greenland.
he Rasmussen museum in Ilulissat.

174. Rasmussen Museum

176. • http://www.ilumus.gl/

178. The Zion church at Ilulissat

179. The town church, was
built in 1782, and was
paid in full by a collection
among the locals.

181. The church is beautifully located by the sea.

182. Ilulissat café, Iluliaq

183. Pisiffik, the largest
supemarket in town

184. Two Inuit women pulling children on sleds through the centre of Ilulissat

185. H8
The restaurant H8 at the hamlet of Rodebay
20km from Ilulissat .

187. Whale meat,
salmon,
halibut, dried
cod, shrimps,
cheese, fish
filets…

188. The small village of Rodebay
was founded by Dutch whalers.

191. The transportation system in Greenland is very unusual : no railways and no roads.
There is a total of 150 km roads in the entire country. The major means of
transportation have been by boat up and down the coasts. The arrival of a boat with
supplies is allways an important happening –weekly, monthly or yearly...

192. The Umiaq Line ferry leaving Ilulissat.

194. Midnight in Illulissat

195. New Year’s eve fireworks – a celebration greenlanders never miss.

196. The Ilulissat Icefjord is the
sea mouth of Sermeq
Kujalleq, one of the few
glaciers through which the
Greenland ice cap reaches
the sea.
It runs west 40 kilometres from
the Jakobshavn glacier to
the sea in Disko bay.
In 2004, UNESCO put the
Ilulissat Icefjord on the
World Heritage List under the
sections "Earth's History and
Geological Features" and
"Superlative natural
phenomena, scenic beauty".

197. Ilulissat glacier
Sermeq
Kujalleq

198. The glacier before reaching the fjord

199. You can see the icebergs forming !

200. One of the worlds most productive and fast moving glaciers - Sermeq
Kujalleq or Kangia .

201. NWF Global Warming in Greenlandvideo at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjsoXlZjUfQ
Ilulissat Icefjord

202. Illulissat = Iceberg in
Gronelandic.

203. The Isfjord wall - airview

204. The Ice Wall

212. The Great Doors of Disko Bay…

216. Fishing through icebergs

217. Ice skyscrapers – a rare view

219. Midnight tour

220. Reflections

221. Illulissat fjord at midnight.

222. Sermermiut fjord , 2 Km from Ilulissat – ice and flowers in Spring.

223. Ice and flowers - that’s Greenland !

225. Ancient Eskimo settlement Sermermiut
• The Sermermiut valley, half an hour walk from Ilulissat, is a unique
archaeological area. Excavations proved that Greenland has been
inhabitated from pre-historic times, from at least about 2500 B.C. !
• The Saqqaq culture is the
archaeological designation of
the earliest Palaeo-Eskimo
culture of West and Southeast
Greenland. The time frame is
roughly 2.500 BC - 800 BC.
• In Sermermiut valley one can
see the remains of houses,
evidence of human existence
that has been here for over
4000 years.

226. Excavation area

228. A wooden church in miniature at the small village of Saqqaq (150
hbts) on a coast of Disko bay.

229. Another church beautifully located by the sea in Disko Bay area .

230. Land of contrasts:
Swimming in hot spring with icebergs in the sea…
There are lots of hot springs in Greenland – from 36 to 60º Celsius! –
many of them in Disko Bay, others in Uunartoq island, in the south.

231. The West
Sisimiut
Nuuk (Godthab)
This area, due to its micro-
climate, has the mildest
summer weather on the
island, though it can get
extremely cold in winter.

232. Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg) , the second largest city of Greenland.
With about 6000 inhabitants, it’s the most northern icefree town in winter.

233. The town center characterized by its colonial age buildings with the old
blue church, the old shop, colonial residences, an old forge.

235. The Colonial quarter
The town was founded in 1756 as a mission and trading station, based
on whaling..
The old town is now a museum.

237. The Bethel blue church
is Greenland’s second
oldest church dating
back to 1775.

238. The new church, built in 1926 and extended in 1984

239. The old Bethel church

243. The mean temperature is up to 14º C in July,
down to -30º C in January-March.

245. Sisimiut is situated between hillsides, and the small houses are built on hills.
It is also the northernmost limit of winter navigation by sea, and the
southernmost limit of winter dog sledding.
South of here there are no sled dogs !

246. Traditional
breaded
costumes

247. School start day

248. The Sisimiut museum
Museum of history of
civilizations,as well as
a special museum of
trade, shipping and
industry, it is situated
in an old 18th century
building.
http://www.museum.gl/uk/sisimiut/

249. Old whaling harpoon

250. Sod House museum
Next to the churches, this interesting house with walls more than
one metre thick built of piled up sod gathered on the tundra.

251. A major factory, the
Royal Greenland fish
and shrimp plant in
Sisimiut, is the largest
of its kind in Greenland
and one of the most
modern in the world.
Royal Greenland

252. Thanks to the mild temperature, the harbour is opened all year, which
helps trade.

253. Shopping center, Pisiffik stores
Pisiffik employs 700 people and has
shops in major towns on the west coast.

254. Bakery and
patisserie

255. Sisimiut under a wonderful midnight sun

256. There is a project to build a road (a ROAD !) to link Sisimiut to
Kangerlussuaq airport. That would be more than 160 km through
many curves, but would allow Sisimiut a greater role in trade and
tourism.

257. Nuuk – the world’s
smallest capital city
It has a population of about
15 000.
Nuuk is also the oldest town
in Greenland. It was founded
by the missionary Hans
Egede in 1728.

259. Nuuk has a moderate polar climate with cold, snowy
winters and cool summers.
Temperatures are below freezing during winter and
stays cool in summer.

260. Nuuk´s main atractions are the cultural centre Katuaq, Greenland’s
University, the cathedral from 1849 and the National Museum.

261. Nuuk’s old town

262. Warehouse by the old harbour

263. Nuuk’s dome

264. Freisers
Kirke
built in1849

266. Nuuk’s old University

268. The old Hospital

269. The old Hospital and the Dome

271. Behind the Ice you see the yellow building, which use to be the old
hospital . The red building is the Dome of Nuuk.

272. The graveyard

276. a) Winter

277. b) Summer

278. Dog life

279. No job in summer…

280. Conference center, art gallery,
coffee shop, art school, and the
Nordic Institute.
Katuaq Cultural Centre

281. http://www.atuagkat.com/default.asp?lang=uk
Atuagkat
Bookstore's
Book shop
in Nuuk

282. Nuuk Art Museum
www.natmus.gl/
http://www.nuukkunstmuseum.gl/

283. http://www.natmus.gl/en/html/museumen.html
Greenland
National
Museum

284. Fine ethnographical material from
Ammassalik and Thule were
collected around 1880-1920. The
recent colonial period is mainly
represented by clothing and tools.

286. A wooden map
Three-dimensional maps of coastlines
were carved of wood as long as
three hundred years ago.
These Inuit charts were usually carved
from driftwood and are made to be
felt rather than looked at.
The map is a three-dimensional
Ammassalik Eskimo coastal map of
parts of the fjord coast of east
Greenland, carved in wood
http://www.danstopicals.com/greenland.htm

287. Hans Egede house – the oldest in Nuuk.
Egede was a missionary and the founder of Godthåb (Nuuk).

288. Town Bell,
used to call
people to
meetings

289. Barista Web Cafe ,
in downtown Nuuk

290. Stairway up home
from the waterfront

291. Modern Nuuk

292. New confortable houses

293. The modern quarter
New Nuuk

294. Queue in Nuuk
Greenland's capital has ATM cash machines and the inevitable queue,
just like anywhere else.

295. Nuuk’s beautiful mountain Sermitsiaq

298. A Greenlandic national daily newspaper, published in Nuuk
on Fridays, with an english limited version online :
http://sermitsiaq.gl/english/
It was first published in 1958.

299. Nuuk, kayaks under northern lights

300. Nuuk by night

303. Midnight
sun
in Nuuk

304. Sources:
Photos and text excerpts from
http://www.trekearth.com
http://www.panoramio.com/
http://www.pbase.com
http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/poles/kalaall.html
http://www.flickr.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com
http://www.woophy.com
Selection and slideshow by Mario Ricca , 2009
Greenland – Another World
End of Part I
Continues in Greenland - Another World
Part II