Sermersooq
Sermersooq is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. It is home to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and is the most populous municipality in the country and it is the second largest municipality in the world by area, after Qaasuitsup. In the south, it is flanked by the Kujalleq municipality, in the northwest, the municipality is bordered by the Qeqqata municipality, and further north by the Qaasuitsup municipality. The latter border however runs north-south through the center of the Greenland ice sheet −, in the north the municipality is bordered by the Northeast Greenland National Park. In the east, near the settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit, the municipal shores straddle the Kangertittivaq fjord, the southeastern shores are bordered by the Anorituup Kangerlua fjord of the Irminger Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. There are flights between Nuuk and Paamiut Airport on the west coast. Kalaallisut, the West Greenlandic dialect is spoken in the towns, danish is in use in the bigger towns.
Tunumiit oraasiat, the East Greenlandic dialect, is spoken on the eastern coast
Upernavik
Upernavik is a small town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,181 inhabitants as of 2013, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland, owing to the small size of the settlement, everything is within walking distance. It is the northern-most town in Greenland with a population of over 1,000, the town was founded as Upernavik in 1772. From the former name of its island, it was known as Womens Island. In 1824, the Kingittorsuaq Runestone was found outside the town and it bears runic characters left by Norsemen, probably from the late 13th century. The runic characters list the names of three Norsemen and mention the construction of a cairn nearby. Upernavik is served by Air Greenland, with scheduled flights from Upernavik Airport to Qaanaaq, most settlements in the archipelago are served during weekdays with the Bell 212 helicopter. In the summer, a ferry of Royal Arctic Line sails to local villages. Upernavik is located within Upernavik Archipelago, a vast archipelago of islands on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay.
With 1,181 inhabitants as of 2013, Upernavik is the fifth-largest town in the Qaasuitsup municipality, cyclist Hanne Malmberg was born in Upernavik. She represented Denmark at the 1992 Summer Olympics, winters are very cold and snowy and summers are quite cool. With a mean of just 5.2 in July, trees are unable to grow and winter are the wettest time of the year and spring is the driest
Siorapaluk
Siorapaluk or Hiurapaluk is a settlement in the Qaanaaq area of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northern Greenland. It is one of the worlds northernmost inhabited settlements and the northernmost settlement inhabited by natives and it has a population of 68, who speak the Inuktun language of the Polar Inuit as well as the Kalaallisut dialect of Greenlandic. Many of the inhabitants are descendants of the last migration of Inuit from Canada in the 20th century. There is good hunting in the area of the settlement, and the cliffs around it function as breeding grounds for dovekie – known as auk –, there are many Arctic foxes and Arctic hares in the area and an abundance of seals and walruses which are hunted. Siorapaluk has a power plant, direct satellite radio and TV-broadcasting. The settlements school is combined with its church and a public library. Although there are no resident medical facilities, the settlement is visited regularly by a physician, Air Greenland operates settlement flights to Qaanaaq Airport and to Savissivik Heliport via Thule Air Base.
The distance to Qaanaaq is 45 km, the twice-weekly flights are subsidized by the Government of Greenland. Transfers at the airbase are subject to restrictions by the Danish Foreign Ministry
Nares Strait
Nares Strait is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that is the northern part of Baffin Bay where it meets the Lincoln Sea. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin, during 1962–64 a 20 km by 10 km ice island drifted southward from the Lincoln Sea through the Nares and Davis Straits to the Atlantic Ocean. Nares strait has a nearly permanent current from the north, powered by the Beaufort Gyre, in 1964, its name, from the British naval officer George Strong Nares, was agreed by the Danish and Canadian governments. The strait and neighbouring waters are usually hazardous for navigation and shipping, during August, however, it is usually navigable by icebreakers. Prior to 1948, only five vessels were recorded as having successfully navigated north of Kane Basin, in 2009 the ship Arctic Sunrise made the first known June transit into the Arctic Ocean. Hans Island, an island lying within the strait, is claimed by both Denmark and Canada.
Thule People reached the Nares Strait in the early 13th century, archeological remains of Thule Culture and Viking presence are found on Ruin Island. Missing Ice Arches Contributed to 2007 Arctic Ice Loss http, //muenchow. cms. udel. edu/papers/MuenchowMelling2008JMR. pdf
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established.
The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity.
In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
Kangaatsiaq
Kangaatsiaq is a town located at the southern end of the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. The town received status as recently as 1986, though as a settlement it has existed much longer. It has 558 inhabitants as of 2013, nearby settlements are Attu, Niaqornaarsuk and Iginniarfik. Fishing and seal hunting are the sources of income for the residents. Kangaatsiaq has a factory producing dried fish and shrimp. The town of Kangaatsiaq has a supermarket, kindergarten with 26 children, a hostel called The Lodge with space for six people is the only accommodation for tourists. Air Greenland serves the village as part of government contract, with helicopter flights from Kangaatsiaq Heliport to Aasiaat Airport. Settlement flights in the archipelago are unique in that they are operated only during winter, during summer and autumn, when the waters of Disko Bay are navigable, communication between settlements is by sea only, serviced by Diskoline. The ferry links Kangaatsiaq with Ikerasaarsuk, Iginniarfik, the area has a rich Arctic wildlife including reindeer, Arctic fox, and Arctic hare.
Marine mammals include ringed seal, harbor seal, hooded seal, bearded seal, harp seal, humpback whale, minke whale, fin whale, when the sea ice comes, sometimes walrus and polar bear can be seen. Birdlife includes raven, various species of seagull, king eider, falcon, snowy owl, snow bunting, Arctic tern, the population of Kangaatsiaq has fluctuated over the last two decades, decreasing over the last several years. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland − geology of the Kangaatsiaq area greenland. com Brief tourist information on Kangaatsiaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq, formerly Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world, the inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak Kalaallisut and Danish, and many speak the Inuktun language. The town has a population of 656 as of 2013, the Qaanaaq area in northern Greenland was first settled around 2000 BC by the Paleo-Eskimo migrating from the Canadian Arctic. The settlement was moved another 100 kilometers to the north. Ways of living so far north and in severe climatic conditions are passed on from generation to generation. When the sea becomes open sometime around August, large dinghies with powerful engines are used for hunting trips and ordinary journeys. It is still light twenty-four hours a day at this time - the Midnight Sun lasts from the middle of April to the end of August, Air Greenland operates fixed-wing aircraft services between Qaanaaq Airport and Upernavik Airport, with further connections to Ilulissat Airport and Qaarsut Airport.
Settlement flights operate to Siorapaluk, sporadically to Moriusaq, and to Savissivik via Thule Air Base, there are a few unpaved dirt roads in Qaanaaq. Only one road leaves the town - it connects to Qaanaaq Airport, pickup trucks and SUVs are found in Qaanaaq, but skis and walking are better alternatives for getting around. There is a hospital in Qaanaaq with basic health care offered. More advanced care requires transfer to medical centers in Greenland by air. Dental care is offered in the form of a dentist who visits the town twice a year, a small local fire brigade is assisted by firefighters at the Thule Air Base. Local government consists of a council which is elected every four years. The town is part of the region of Qaasuitsup, which is represented by a council, Qaanaaq is home to a remote CTBTO infrasound listening station called IS-18, which uses an array of barometric sensors to detect possible nuclear tests around the world. The station is maintained by the Danish Meteorological Institute, and as of 2016 the current operator is Svend Erik Ascanius, with 656 inhabitants as of 2013, Qaanaaq is the largest settlement in the far north of the country.
Its population has been stable with only minor fluctuations since the mid-1990s. The city, with its low population and tradition of hunting. Qaanaaq has a climate, and hence it has long
Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park is the worlds largest and most northerly national park. It is the largest protected area in the world. It was the first national park to be created in the Kingdom of Denmark, the large interior of the park is part of the Greenland Ice Sheet, but there are large ice-free areas along the coast and on Peary Land in the north. Besides Peary land, the park includes the King Frederick VIII Land, the area is subject to larger loss of ice than expected. In January 1977 it was designated a biosphere reserve. The park is overseen by the Greenland Department of Environment and Nature, the historical research camps on the ice sheet−Eismitte and North Ice−fall within the boundaries of the present-day park. The park has no permanent human population, in 1986, the permanent population of the park was 40, living at Mestersvig, although 400 sites saw occasional summertime use. These 40 were involved in cleanup and closeout operations at mining exploration sites, since censuses have recorded zero permanent human population.
The research station ZERO 74°28′11″N 20°34′15″W can cater for over 20 scientists, an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 musk oxen, as well as numerous polar bears and walrus, can be found near the coastal regions of the park. This is claimed to be 40% of the population of musk ox. Other mammals include Arctic fox, collared lemming and Arctic hare, other marine mammals include ringed seal, bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal as well as narwhal and Beluga whale. Species of birds breed in the park include great northern diver, barnacle goose, pink-footed goose, common eider, king eider, snowy owl, ptarmigan
Ilulissat
Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland, located approximately 350 km north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,541 as of 2013, it is the third-largest city in Greenland, after Nuuk, the city is home to almost as many sled-dogs. In direct translation, Ilulissat is the Kalaallisut word for Icebergs, the nearby Ilulissat Icefjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has made Ilulissat the most popular tourist destination in Greenland. Tourism is now the principal industry. The city neighbours the Ilulissat Icefjord, where there are enormous icebergs from the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. These white giants are a source of astonishment for both residents and visitors, when the gaze drifts to the wide Disco Bay and when you close to the fjord. The town was established as a trading post by Jacob Severins company in 1741 and was named in his honor, the Zion Church was built in the late 18th century, and was the largest man-made structure in Greenland at the time.
The final resident of nearby Sermermiut moved to Ilulissat in 1850, the town was the site of the Arctic Ocean Conference in May 2008. The Ilulissat Declaration arose from the conference and it said that it remained committed to this legal framework and to the orderly settlement of any possible overlapping claims. With this existing legal framework, providing a foundation for responsible management. The states involved, would keep abreast of the developments in the Arctic Ocean, the Ilulissat Icefjord southeast of Ilulissat was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Ilulissat is the largest town in the Qaasuitsup municipality, the population increased over 8% relative to 1990 levels but has remained steady since around 2003. Air Ilulissat Airport is located 2.8 km to the northeast of the center and was built in 1983. It serves Ilulissat with connections to towns in northwestern and midwestern Greenland via Air Greenland, service to Reykjavík, began in April 2011 via Air Iceland. Sea The Arctic Umiaq ferry links Ilulissat with Sisimiut, the town is home to Nagdlunguaq-48 who play in the Greenlandic Mens Football Championship, Greenlands top soccer competition.
Nagdlunguaq-48, who all their league games in Nuuk, have won the championship ten times. Knud Rasmussen, noted explorer and anthropologist, referred to as the father of Eskimology. Born in Ilulissat, Rasmussen was the first man to cross the Northwest Passage via dog sled and he remains well known in Greenland and among Canadian Inuit
Administrative divisions of Greenland
Greenland is divided into four municipalities – Kujalleq, Qaasuitsup and Sermersooq – as well as the large Northeast Greenland National Park which is unincorporated. The Thule Air Base is administered by the United States Air Force, Greenland was originally divided between the two colonies of North Greenland with its capital at Godhavn and South Greenland with its capital at Godthaab. These were directed by inspectors until 1924, when the officials were promoted to governors, the colonies were united in 1940 and the administration centralized at Godthaab. In 1953 a new Danish constitution promoted Greenland to full membership in the Danish state with all of its inhabitants given Danish citizenship, for statistical and some regulatory purposes the country was divided into three divisions in 1951, West Greenland, North Greenland and East Greenland. By 2008, Kitaa had 15 municipalities, Tunu 2, in 1908 Greenland was divided into 63 municipalities with elected municipal councils. After the modernization phase started in the 1950s these were consolidated, the structural reform in 2008-9 created 4 enlarged municipalities
Ilimanaq
Ilimanaq, formerly Claushavn, is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. It had 84 inhabitants in 2010, the modern name of the village is Kalaallisut for Place of Expectations. Ilimanaq is located on the shore of Disko Bay, just south of the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord. The old Danish name of the settlement derived from the Dutch whaler Klacs Pieterz Torp, the whalers were active in the region from 1719 to 1732, leaving a trail of names behind – the settlement of Oqaatsut to the north was originally a Dutch whaling station named Rodebay. Claushavn was founded in 1741, around the time as Ilulissat. Air Greenland serves the village as part of government contract, with helicopter flights between Ilimanaq Heliport and Ilulissat Airport. Settlement flights in the Disko Bay are unique in that they are operated only during winter, during winter, the nearby Qasigiannguit town to the south of Ilimanaq can be reached on foot, or by dogsled. During summer and autumn, when the waters of Disko Bay are navigable, the ferry links Ilimanaq with Ilulissat, from where ferry connections are available to Oqaatsut, Saqqaq and towns and settlements in the Aasiaat Archipelago.
The population of Ilimanaq has been stable in the last two decades
Qeqertarsuaq
Greenlandic, Qeqertarsuaq is a port and town in Qaasuitsup municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. Qeqertarsuaq is the Kalaallisut name for Disko Island and is now used for several other islands on Greenland in Qaasuitsup, including those formerly known as Upernavik. In 2013, the town had 845 inhabitants, the remainder of the population of the island lives in the Kangerluk settlement, a few hours by boat to the northwest. The total area of Disko Island and its islands is 9,700 km2. Blæsedalen valley is to the north of the town, Kangerluk is the location where researchers found a galloping glacier in 1999 that moves up to 100 meters a day. Traces of settlement between five and six years ago have been found at Qeqertarsuaq. The settlers were paleo-Eskimos wandering south, during the 18th century, the first whalers came to Qeqertarsuaq, where they found a suitable anchorage.
The town was founded as Godhavn by the whaler Svend Sandgreen in 1773, the name was sometimes anglicized as Guthaven and the settlement was known as Lievely or Leifly. It served as the northernmost point in the enforcement of the Danish rights to whaling in the region, whaling has been of great importance to the town over the past two centuries. Hunting and fishing are still the primary occupations for the islands inhabitants, from an early date, Godhavn shared the administration of Greenland with Godthåb. Godhavn served as the capital for North Greenland while Godthåb directed South Greenland, in 1862, a new law on municipalities was passed and the so-called Directions were introduced in Greenland. The primary task of the Directions was the administration of the set apart for social purposes, support for widows, orphans. The Directions functioned as courts in case of theft. The Directions took part in the fight against the spreading of distemper. In Godhavn, they founded a school for boys and a sewing school for girls.
The Councils of Northern and Southern Greenland were summoned to a meeting in Godhavn on 3 May 1940, following this meeting, administration for the entire island was concentrated in Godthåb. The Chief Administrative Office was abolished in 1950 at the establishment of the National Council of Greenland, with the end of government positions in town, the local economy focused more directly on hunting and fishing
Coat of arms
