Disko Bay
Encyclopedia
Disko Bay is a bay on the western coast of Greenland
. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay
.
To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries
and small islands in the Aasiaat
archipelago. Qasigiannguit
and Ilimanaq
are the main settlements in the southeastern inlet, just south of the outflow of Ilulissat Icefjord
.
From the north the bay is bounded by Qeqertarsuaq
, the largest island on the western coast. North of Ilulissat
and west of Aluttoq Island the bay transforms into Sullorsuaq Strait
separating Qeqertarsuaq from Nuussuaq Peninsula
.
when Erik the Red
started a settlement in 985 AD on the more habitable western coast of Greenland. The two settlements, called the Eastern and Western Settlement, were sustenance economies that survived on animal husbandry
. Soon after the Western settlement was established, the Norsemen traveled up the coast during the summer thaw and discovered Disko Bay.
Their special interest in this bay was due to its rich sources of Walrus
es for ivory
, seals
for their pelts, and whales for a variety of materials. These products became the main exports and source of income for the Greenlandic settlers who traded with Iceland
, the British Isles, and mainland Europe. It is important because without its resources the settlements might not have lasted as long as they did.
It is uncertain when the Inuit
first started venturing into Disko Bay, and Norse accounts have the area uninhabited when they first explored. Further, Norse accounts document an eventual trade arrangement with the Inuit who came from the north and west. For a time, both parties made peaceful use of the bay. Later accounts report fighting and massacres on both sides. However, the Norse left the Greenlandic settlements mainly due to the Little Ice Age
that started in the 15th century. There was such a massive shift of temperature
that Disko Bay became inaccessible in the warmer summer months. This destroyed the livelihood of the Greenlandic Norse. Even the Eastern settlement, which was below the Arctic Circle
became too cold for inhabitation. After this time until the return of Europeans in the 18th century, the Inuit controlled the Disko Bay area.
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
.
Geography
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack....
and small islands in the Aasiaat
Aasiaat
Aasiaat is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. Located in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay. With a population of 3,005 as of 2010, it is Greenland's fifth-largest town.-Etymology:...
archipelago. Qasigiannguit
Qasigiannguit
Qasigiannguit is a town located on the southeastern shore of Disko Bay, in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. With 1,253 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. The main industry is shrimp and halibut fishing....
and Ilimanaq
Ilimanaq
Ilimanaq is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. It had 84 inhabitants in 2010. The name of the village means "the place of expectations" in Greenlandic.- Geography :...
are the main settlements in the southeastern inlet, just south of the outflow of Ilulissat Icefjord
Ilulissat Icefjord
Ilulissat Icefjord is a fjord in western Greenland. Ilulissat Icefjord was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.- Geography :It runs west from the Greenland ice sheet to Disko Bay just south of Ilulissat town. At its eastern end is the Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier , the most productive...
.
From the north the bay is bounded by Qeqertarsuaq
Disko Island
Disko Island is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area of , making it the second largest island of Greenland and one of the 100 largest islands in the world...
, the largest island on the western coast. North of Ilulissat
Ilulissat
Ilulissat is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland, located approximately north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,546 as of 2010, it is the third-largest settlement in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut....
and west of Aluttoq Island the bay transforms into Sullorsuaq Strait
Sullorsuaq Strait
Sullorsuaq Strait is a strait on the western coast of Greenland.- Geography :It separates Nuussuaq Peninsula in the northeast from Qeqertarsuaq Island in the southwest. The strait waterway connects inner Disko Bay in the southeast with Baffin Bay in the northwest...
separating Qeqertarsuaq from Nuussuaq Peninsula
Nuussuaq Peninsula
Nuussuaq Peninsula is a large peninsula in western Greenland.- Geography :The waters around the peninsula are that of Baffin Bay. To the south and southwest the peninsula is bounded by Disko Bay, an inlet of Baffin Bay. It is separated from Qeqertarsuaq Island by Sullorsuaq Strait which...
.
History
Disko Bay has been an important location for centuries. Its coastline was first encountered by EuropeansEuropean ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
when Erik the Red
Erik the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson , known as Erik the Red , is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. The Icelandic tradition indicates that he was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, he therefore...
started a settlement in 985 AD on the more habitable western coast of Greenland. The two settlements, called the Eastern and Western Settlement, were sustenance economies that survived on animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
. Soon after the Western settlement was established, the Norsemen traveled up the coast during the summer thaw and discovered Disko Bay.
Their special interest in this bay was due to its rich sources of Walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
es for ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
, seals
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
for their pelts, and whales for a variety of materials. These products became the main exports and source of income for the Greenlandic settlers who traded with Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, the British Isles, and mainland Europe. It is important because without its resources the settlements might not have lasted as long as they did.
It is uncertain when the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
first started venturing into Disko Bay, and Norse accounts have the area uninhabited when they first explored. Further, Norse accounts document an eventual trade arrangement with the Inuit who came from the north and west. For a time, both parties made peaceful use of the bay. Later accounts report fighting and massacres on both sides. However, the Norse left the Greenlandic settlements mainly due to the Little Ice Age
Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age was a period of cooling that occurred after the Medieval Warm Period . While not a true ice age, the term was introduced into the scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939...
that started in the 15th century. There was such a massive shift of temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
that Disko Bay became inaccessible in the warmer summer months. This destroyed the livelihood of the Greenlandic Norse. Even the Eastern settlement, which was below the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
became too cold for inhabitation. After this time until the return of Europeans in the 18th century, the Inuit controlled the Disko Bay area.
Literary references
- Disko Troop, a central character in Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's novel Captains CourageousCaptains CourageousCaptains Courageous is an 1897 novel, by Rudyard Kipling, that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the arrogant and spoiled son of a railroad tycoon...
, was born on a fishing boat in the vicinity of Disko Bay and subsequently named after it.
Sources
- Brown, Berit ed. Nordic Experiences: Exploration of Scandinavian Cultures. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT. 1997.
- Diamond, Jared. Collapse. Penguin Press Ltd. London, England. 2005.
- Enterline, James Robert. Erikson, Eskimos, and Columbus. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, MD. 2002.
- Haywood, John. The Encyclopedia of the Viking Age. Thanes and Hudson, Inc. New York, NY. 2000.
- Ingstad, Helge. Friis, Erik trans. Westard to Vinland:The Discovery of Pre-Columbian Norse House-sites in North America. St. Martin’s Press. New York, NY. 1969.
- Wahlgren, Erik. The Vikings and America. Thames and Hudson, Inc. New York, NY. 1986.
- Wooding, Jonathan. The Vikings. Rizzoli International Pub. Inc. New York, NY. 1997.
External links
- www.disko.gl Site with information and interactive maps of the Disko Bay area.