Greenland - Another WorldPart II

The East (Tunu) Ittoqqortoormiit Kulusuk Tasiilaq (Ammassalik)

The east coast is mostly ice blocked and sparsely populated.

Because of sea ice, Greenlands east coast is inaccessible by sea most of the year. 90% of the pack ice in the arctic basin outlet to the open sea here. This means hundreds of miles wide continuous drifting pack ice nearly all year around. The ice barrier stretches along the east coast except for 2-3 months in late summer and autumn.

Scoresby Sund fjord(Kangertittivaq)

Scoresby Sund fjord, the largest in the world, stretching for 350 km, and also one of the deepest (over 1500 m), is located in eastern Greenland at 70.447972 N, 21.789562 W

Huge glaciers flow from the Greenland Icecap into Scoresbysund Fjord

Glacier flowing down the side of Fnfjord (Scoresby Sund)

Glacier in fjord near Ittoqqortoormiit The fjord is bordered on both sides by steep, 2.000 meter high mountains from which plunge numerous glaciers.

Dendrit glacier

The Dendritgletscher is one of the largest glaciers in Greenland, stretching over 55 miles. The glacier has an extensive system of medial moraines (the dark lines striping the central portions of the glacier), which are formed by debris carried into the confluence of tributary glaciers.

Its located south of Scoresby Sund, in the area of the Gunnbjrn Fjeld Mountain.

Eielson Glacier in Rypefjord, Scoresby Sund

A piece of ice crashes into the Fjord from Eielson Glacier

Iceberg in Rdefjord (Scoresby Sund)

Tundra in interior Sund

Plateau basalt along the southern coast of Scoresby Sund. The basalts result from the plate tectonic opening of the North Atlantic

Research vessel Polarstern through pack ice in Scoresby Sund

Kapp Tobin , a ghost town, is the most isolated community in Greenland. The cabins are now summer houses for tourists.

Kayaking in the fjord

Bear in Scoresby Sund. The region is known for its wildlife. The settlers prospered on the good hunting conditions of the area, which was rich in seals, walruses, narwhals, polar bears, musk oxen and arctic foxes.

Sunset in the fjord

Nordost Bugt, a small inlet, looking into Nordwest Fjord, which runs from Scoresby Sund in the East into the heart of Greenland. The inlet is filled with fairly small icebergs which have become grounded in the shallows.

Nordost Bugt in Spring. At the time of the melting ice, the small stream in the foreground would be in full flood, carrying water and pieces of ice into the fjord - here, in July, it provides a fertile soil for arctic flora .

Sermilik fjordA 10 km wide fjord at the east coast. At first glance, the icebergs in this fjord dont look that large, but when you see the red helicopter in the foreground, taking off from the only piece of flat ground, you get a better idea of the grandiose scale of this landscape.

Founded in 1822, its the most isolated comunity in Greenland.Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund) is a town in east Greenland, near the mouth of the Scoresby Sund fjord.

Ittoqqortoormiit

Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), pop. 550

A street to the Doctors house

Harbour ice blocked

Hunter houses

New housing

Inuit by the window

The church, overlooking the fjord

The church was finished in 1928.

Hospital

Kindergarten

School

Hotel

Ice blocked

Sledge dogs sleeping

Sports hall

Supplies are vital to the inhabitants; from September to June, the access is blocked by pack ice so the arrival of the first cargo ship has been waited for long.

Constable Point (Constable Pynt) airport and its famous Hilton -1 star Hotel

Ammassalikarea

KulusukTassilaq

The view, landing at Kulusuk small airport by noon.

Kulusuk airport,easy access from Iceland

Kulusuk airport and taxi!

Kulusuk airport shuttle service (for luggage only !)

Kulusuk (pop.300)

Kulusuk is situated on the East coast, at 65 N.A truly remarkable place, because of its hostile nature and the fact that it has been cut off from the rest of the world for centuries.

The airport provides supplies, and danish teachers and medical staff give basic assistance to the mostly inuit inhabitants. It is a rather isolated town, lacking many basic infrastructure, with the majority lacking running water.

Many of the villagers depend upon tourism to supplement the more traditional pursuits of hunting and fishing. Kayak and dog sledging adventures are locally organized.

As there is no forest in Greenland, timber houses are imported from Denmark in kit form and assembled on site .

The elderly villagers of Kulusuk had only emerged from a primitive stone-age existence, when the international airport was created in 1958.

Drying laundry ?...

Greenlandic family and their sledge.

Snow will soon block the view out of the window.

Kulusuk churchThe church was constructed in 1922 by the crew of a Danish sailing vessel that ran aground on the nearby coast, and with the timbers of the ship itself.

Icebreaker arrival. Boats are frequently immobilised by ice in winter.

Hotel Kulusuk, a fantastic location for ice adventure.

Kulusuk

View from Kulusuk

The breathtaking Knud Rasmussen glacier, north of Kulusuk. Greenland here shows its grandeur in beauty and power.

Karale glacier, which feeds into Sermiligaq fjord near Kulusuk,almost in front of the Knud Rasmussen.

Karale, air view

Boat tours can approach Karale without danger.

With spring ice melting brings streams and flowers !

From Kulusuk airport, Tasiilaq is a short flight away or a short trip by sea, if the ice allows.

East coast airview approaching Tasiilaq

Ammassalik fjord

Tasiilaq (Ammassalik) (population 1800)

Tasiilaq is located in a fjord surrounded by high mountains, away from the open sea. Late afternoon, with view over the Kong Oscar Havn and Mount Vegasfjeld.

Tasiilaq was discovered in 1884 by the dane Gustav Holm on a mapping expedition along the east coast of Greenland.

This part of east coast has milder winters: average temperaturs are of -4 C in January 11 C in July.

House with a view on Ammassalik mountain and the fjord

The centre of Tasiilaq, The two large red buildings in the bottom left and centre are the post office and one of Tasiilaqs two supermarkets .

Traditional houses are built of wood and painted in wonderful bright colours. The climate is hard on the painting and the summer storms - carrying some of the most powerful winds in the world - is like a sandblast on the houses. Than repainting is necessary for the houses not to turn all grey over a longer period.

The largest community on the east coast of Greenland, looking over its small port which is called Kong Oscars Havn, Tasiilaq receives supply ships only between June and September, because for the rest of the year the pack ice is too thick for ships to reach the port.

The supply ship from Arctic Line unloads at Kong Oskars Havn

Kong Oscars Havn and Ammassalik mountain

The football pitch in Tasiilaq with Ammassalik mountain in the background.Hotel AmmassalikTasiilaq is not so isolated as other towns in Greenland: there's an hospital, ATM machines, a couple of supermarkets, a football field, a disco/bar, a tourist information center, a good hotel, a good museum, and a large variety of activities.

The "National" footwear of Greenland. These seal boots are a part of the greenlandic national suit.The black boots are for a boy, the white for a girl.

Pattern on the seal skin boots

Drying cod Tasiilaq In Greenland the cod is hung to dry outside for weeks. When the cod is dry and hard the locals eat it as food or they feed it to the dogs.. The dried cod tastes salty and delicious.

Sledges

Girl in Tasiilaq with her Vava. In Eastgreenland a young dog is called Vava.

Inuit drum dance, an art which has died out in most other regions of Greenland.

Teaching a young girl the art of this ancient tradition, backed by the view of the Tuno Fjord.

Birthday cakes, some decorated with the national flag.

The old church, from 1908 now Ammassalik museum.

Church bench decorations

Inuit baskets adorned with ivory carvings

Ivory decorated throwing sticks. These were used to propel spears better than they could be thrown.

Ivory decorated boxes

Peat house at Tasiilaq . In those times 15-25 people used to live here! Windows were made from intestinal skin stitched together allowing light in but no sight out.

Beware Musk Oxen! They are frequently seen in Ammassalik area.

Furious Musk oxen attack a sledge dog in Ammassalik area.

Napparngummut - Tasiilaq One of the poorer neighbourhoods in Tasiilaq. The families live from hunting and fishing polar bears, seals, cod, salmon. The climate and the storms are very hard on the painting of the houses. When the earth is dry, sand and dust from stormy weather is like sandblast on the wooden houses. Its the feared Piteraq, a cold katabatic wind. .

The fog is crawling in from the open sea to the fjord so fast that you can see it move. A beautiful scene as the low evening sunlight illuminated the houses..

Ammassalik mountains surround Tasiilaq

Ammassalik region shows rapid warming in the last 10 years. The east coast glaciers are among the fastest running and the fastest receding in the world.

Northern lights over TasiilaqNorthern lights (Nordlys) Tasiilaq

New Year in Tasiilaq. All Greenlands main towns celebrate New Year.

The South

Narsaq Qaqortoq

Here are the best patches of fertile land in Greenland. Some sheep farms, and in spring, flower valleys and melted water streams make a more easy living.

Mountain scenery in the South of Greenland

Narsaq

Narsaq is located in the south, in a magnificent fjord system, with high mountains and green valleys. Roughly 1700 people live in the town.Narsaq

Narsaq at 1 a.m.

Narsaq harbour, the visit of Sarfaq Ittuq ferry.The town has a mild climate (-17C in winter but 22 in summer) .

An Air Greenland S61 lands at Narsaq

The valley and the mountains in Narsaqs hinterland are a paradise for those interested in geology

Kayaking in Narsaq fjord

Narsaq MuseumArtifacts from the Saqqaq culture (2500-800 BC) and still earlier Dorset cultures who occupied southern Greenland before the Inuit arrived.

Narsaq church

Narsaq church was erected in 1926-27 by master carpenter Pavia Hegh

Narsaq in Spring

Greenlands most fertile town, Narsaq means "the plain" in Greenlandic, and the name is due to the large green plain on which the town lies.

The national flower of Greenland "Niviarsiaq" which means "little girl" in Greenlandic.

(Epilobe, Chamaenerion latifolium)Classes begin in August.

Here children in traditional clothes arrive for the new year.

Qaqortoq (Julianehb ) , a town of 3000 people near Narsaq

Qaqortoq harbour reflections

The old church Frelserens Kirke of Qaqortoq (1832)

The colonial buildings dating back to 1775, when the town was founded

The famous fountain, the oldest in Greenland, in Qaqortoqs Town Square, Torvet.

The fountain depicts whales spouting water out of their blowholes.

Caf in Qaqortoq center.

Notice the paved street !

Elders council chamber, 1859

Colour detail

Like many other greenlandic towns, Qaqortoq is sparsely built among some rock hills. Wooden stairs are the only access for some to get home.

On a Christmas night

As part of a national project, many sculptures and stone carvings decorate the area.Stone Whales carved into the side of the mountain in Qaqortoq

The Norse settlements in GreenlandThe Vikings (or Nordic or Norse) came from Iceland and started farming communities in 984 AD.They were led by Erik the Red.

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/greenland/

The Norse settlers who arrived in AD 985 found a few pockets of vegetation amid the barren rock and snow. Most of these settlements were inthe south, sheltered deep within narrow fjords. The settlement of Brattahl was one of Greenlands wealthiest, founded by Erik the Red himself.

The location is close to the modern municipality of Qaqortoq in Eriksfjord. The present settlement of Qassiarsuk is now located in its place.

Brattahl - Vikings in Greenland

A reproduction of Tjodhilde's Church stands in Brattahlid. It was the first Christian church in the New World ! (actually, a small chapel).Tjodhilde was wife to Erik the Red .

The Norse settlements prospered. From the number of farms in both colonies, whose ruins still dot the landscape, the population may have risen to a peak of about 5 000, in the XIII century. Trading with Norway exchanged live falcons, polar bear skins, narwahl tusks and walrus ivory, for timber, iron, tools, and luxuries such as raisins, nuts, and wine.

Bratttahlid langhusA modern replica of the original "long house" of Erik the Red's clan.

Some even blame european pirates Basques or other. Some blame the food habits based on sheep, goats, and cattle the Norse never adapted to eating sealsSo Greenland remained unexplored for two centuries, until the Danish colonisation in 1721, under the leadership of the missionary Hans Egede.Isolation, lost of soil fertility due to intensive farming, total deforestation for heating and metal smelting, livestock consumed to the last, dramatic climate cooling and, maybe, fighting for land and resources with the Inuits mixed causes may have originated the extinction of Viking colonies in the XV century.

Nowadays Brattahl has again some of the very best farmland in Greenland.This farm is close to Eriks settlement, in Eriksfjord.

It takes good sewing to get good crops.

Rosenvinges tree plantation, near Qassiasurk.The oldest natural Greenland brushwoods are "Rosenvinges trees, a local pine tree. Some deeper land allows trees to grow.

Arboretum Groenlandicum Since 1988, a large-scale plantation of about 150 ha, with more than 50000 trees of various provenances..The goal of the Arboretum is to establish a collection of trees and bushes from both the alpine and the arctic tree-lines of the Northern Hemisphere.

A surprisingly lush vegetation is found in the inner south valleys, though it is species-poor vegetation.

The Valley of Flowers, KangerlussuaqThe unique arctic flora in the Flower Valley makes this a great place for a stroll or a trek. Formed due to glacier retreat and the consequent glacial sedimentation, with plenty of flowers.

For greenlandic flora, visit http://www.finn-j.dk/flora-groenlandica/index.html

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GreenlandResearch

The research stations

Danmarkshavn Station Nord

Danmarkshavn is a small weather and research station located in the Northeast Greenland. The station is an all-year facility with eight persons working and living at the site

Station NordStation Nord is a military and scientific base build by the USA in 1952 as a weather and telecommunications station.Located at 8143N , it is the most remote location in Greenland .

Located in the very flat and beautiful area east of Kap Prins Knud, only 933 km away from the North Pole, Station Nord is now operated by the Danish Defense Command.There is accommodation for up to 20 scientists.

A Twin Otter used for flying new crew from Kangerlussuaq to Station Nord.

Global warming: The New Island

Uunartoq Qeqertoq (the warming island) is a W shaped island that used to be covered by the ice cap. At 71 28' N, 21 50' W, 600Km north of the Polar Arctic Circle, it suddenly was re-found in 2005 detached from the mainland, as the ice cover melted.

The farthest North ?The island of Oodaag or Oodaaq is presently the most northernly island on Earth. In fact its a quite small islet of gravel in Northern Greenland (8m x 15m) discovered in 1978 and submersed by sea or ice most of the time.

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Transportation in GreenlandNo railways, no inland waterways and virtually no roads. Small scale transport by dog sledge is frequent in the north and east, and for tourist aventure.

Greenland's national shipping company. The company provides passenger boat service in the territorial waters of Greenland.The company was founded in 1774.

Route runs between Narsarsuaq in the south and Ilulissat (Disko Bay) in the north. The ship calls at a number of towns such as Qaqortoq/Julianehb, Nuuk/Godthb, Sisimiut/Holsteinsborg and Ilulissat/Jakobshavn.

By sea

Arctic Umiaq Line

Sarfaq Ittuk

Royal Arctic Line freight company supplies goods to all coastal harbours. Life in the country depends on its coming !Mary Arctica, one of the most modern cargo ships

Kangerlussuaq Airport

It was first established as a US Airbase. Today the airport is the busiest in Greenland and a major port of entry into the country for tourists, businessmen, and researchers.By air

Its located about 50km north of the Arctic Circle.

Destinations

(Copenhagen)NuukIlullissatKulusukNarsaqQaanaaq SisimiutTasiilakUpernavikUummannaq

From Copenhagen Air Greenland has 5 to 8 weekly flights to Greenland.

Sikorsky S 61 heli, for internal cargo and passenger routes (25 seats)

de Havilland Dash 7 (50 seats) landing in Kulusuk

Bell 222U, 8 seats

??? Vollmondtour am Ikasak Fjord 7 km from Simiutaq East coast !

Greenland Another World

Sources:Photos and text excerpts from

http://www.trekearth.comhttp://www.panoramio.com/http://www.pbase.comhttp://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/poles/kalaall.htmlhttp://www.flickr.com/http://picasaweb.google.comhttp://www.woophy.com/photo

Research, organization and slideshow by Mario Ricca , 2009