Perlerfiup Kangerlua is a fjord 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...

. It is a tributary fjord of the larger Uummannaq Fjord

Uummannaq Fjord

Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland...

 system.

Geography

The fjord head at approximately 70°59′30"N 50°57′00"W is formed by the front of the Perlerfiup Sermia glacier flowing from the Greenland ice sheet

Greenland ice sheet

The Greenland 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 ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...

 . At about one third of its length, the fjord changes direction from westward to northwestward, finally turning sharply to the southwest before confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 with the northeastern part of Uummannaq Fjord at approximately 71°03′10"N 52°00′00"W, due west of Ukkusissat

Ukkusissat

Ukkusissat is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. The population of the settlement was 170 in 2010.- Geography :...

.

The fjord is bounded from the south by the Ukkusissat Peninsula across its entire length. To the north, it is bound by the mainland of Greenland, the highlands of Akularusersuaq and Akuliarusikassak, and the mountains of Perlerfiup Nunaa. The coastline is undeveloped−the fjord has only one tributary fjord on its northern bank, the Qaumarujuk Fjord.

Settlement

Ukkusissat

Ukkusissat

Ukkusissat is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. The population of the settlement was 170 in 2010.- Geography :...

, perched on the northwestern tip of the Ukkusissat Peninsula at the mouth of the fjord, is the only settlement in the area.

Mining

Maamorilik

Maamorilik

Maamorilik is a mining site in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland...

 is a former mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 site, currently undergoing reactivation, and slated for reopening in November 2010. Holding resources of zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

, iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

, lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

, and silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

, the mine is 5 km (3.1 mi) long, with its entry level situated 750 km (466 mi) above the sea level.

Transport

The fjord can be reached by individually chartered boats from Ukkusissat. Ukkusissat Heliport

Ukkusissat Heliport

Ukkusissat Heliport is a heliport in Ukkusissat, a village in the Uummannaq Fjord system in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. The heliport is considered a helistop, and is served by Air Greenland as part of a government contract...

 served by Air Greenland

Air Greenland

Air Greenland A/S is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, jointly owned by the government of Greenland, the SAS Group, and the government of Denmark...

 is the only aerodrome in the area, with twice-weekly connections to Uummannaq

Uummannaq

Uummannaq is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. With 1,299 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the eleventh-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal...

.