Kangerlussuaq Icefjord (old spelling: Kangerdlugssuaq) is a fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 in the Qaasuitsup

Qaasuitsup

Qaasuitsup is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. As of January 2010 its population is 17,749. The administrative center of the municipality is in Ilulissat...

 municipality in northwestern Greenland

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...

.

Geography

The 42 km (26.1 mi) long fjord flows to the northwest between the mainland of Greenland in the northeast, and a chain of islands in the southwest: Aukarnersuaq Island

Aukarnersuaq Island

Aukarnersuaq Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :...

, Anarusuk Island

Anarusuk Island

Anarusuk Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :Anarusuk Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the shores of the inner reaches of Kangerlussuaq Icefjord, which in the northeast...

, Nuuluk Island

Nuuluk Island

Nuuluk Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :Nuuluk Island is located in Tasiusaq Bay, in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the shores of the inner reaches of Kangerlussuaq Icefjord, which in the northeast separates...

, Qallunaat Island

Qallunaat Island

Qallunaat Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- History :Qallunaat Island was briefly inhabited between 1898, when the Sarfaq settlement was founded, and 1919, when it was abandoned...

, and Tuttorqortooq Island

Tuttorqortooq Island

Tuttorqortooq Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :...

.

The fjord head is located at 73°30′N 55°28′W, where the southern tongue of Giesecke Glacier

Giesecke Glacier

Giesecke Glacier is a glacier in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. Its outflow is split in the center by a nunatak. Through two tongues it drains the Greenland ice sheet westwards into Kangerlussuaq Icefjord. The northern tongue reaches the fjord at . The southern tongue ...

, named , reaches the fjord. The fjord mouth is located in the northernmost part of Tasiusaq Bay

Tasiusaq Bay

Tasiusaq Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentiation of northeastern Baffin Bay...

, between Tuttorqortooq Island in the southwest and Mernoq Island

Mernoq Island

Mernoq Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- History :With brief intervals of no permanent settlement, Mernoq Island was inhabited between 1891, when the Kuuk settlement was founded, and 1972, when it was abandoned...

 in the north.

Qaaneq Fjord

The innermost portion of the fjord bears a different name: Qaaneq (old spelling: Qâneq). It is an inner extension of Kangerlussuaq Icefjord, with the flow from one to the other disrupted by the Kakiffait Sermiat glacier tongue. If the length of both fjords were to be combined, the total length of Kangerlussuaq Icefjord would reach 64 km (39.8 mi). The head of Qaaneq Fjord is located at 73°21′30"N 55°02′22"W, situated between two nunatak

Nunatak

A nunatak is an exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within an ice field or glacier. The term is typically used in areas where a permanent ice sheet is present...

s on the mainland of Greenland, bounding it from the north and from the southwest.