Sisimiut
Encyclopedia
Sisimiut is a town in central-western 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...

, located on the coast of Davis Strait
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage....

, approximately 320 km (198.8 mi) north of Nuuk
Nuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...

. It is the administrative center of the Qeqqata
Qeqqata
Qeqqata is a new municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,677 as of January 2010. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut...

 Municipality and the second-largest town in Greenland, with a population of 5,460 people as of 2010. The site of the present-day town has been inhabited for the last 4,500 years. The first inhabitants were 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...

 peoples of the Saqqaq culture
Saqqaq culture
The Saqqaq culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in Greenland.-Timeframe:...

, Dorset culture
Dorset culture
The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...

, and then the Thule people
Thule people
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...

, whose descendants form the majority of the current population. Artifacts from the early settlement era can be found throughout the region, favored in the past for its plentiful fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

, particularly the marine mammal
Marine mammal
Marine mammals, which include seals, whales, dolphins, and walruses, form a diverse group of 128 species that rely on the ocean for their existence. They do not represent a distinct biological grouping, but rather are unified by their reliance on the marine environment for feeding. The level of...

s providing subsistence for the early hunting societies. The population of modern Greenlanders in Sisimiut is a mix of the Inuit and Danish
Danes
Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...

 peoples, who first settled in the area in the 1720s, under the leadership of the Danish missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

, Hans Egede
Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede was a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact...

.

Today, Sisimiut is the largest business center north of the national capital of Nuuk and is one of the fastest growing towns in Greenland. Fishing is the principal industry in Sisimiut, although the town has a growing industrial base. KNI
KNI (Greenland Trade)
KNI A/S is a state-owned trade company in Greenland. Led by Søren Lennert Mortensen, the company is based in Sisimiut.- History :KNI was founded in 1774 as Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel by the Danish colonial authorities as a state monopoly, thus sharing its origin with Royal Greenland, the...

 and its subsidiary Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq A/S is a state-owned chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland. Based in Sisimiut, it is a subsidiary of KNI, the largest commerce company in the country...

, a state-owned chain of all-purpose general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...

s in Greenland, have their base in Sisimiut. Architecturally, Sisimiut is a mix of traditional, single-family houses, and communal housing, with apartment blocks raised in the 1960s during a period of town expansion in Greenland. Sisimiut is still expanding, with the area north of the port, on the shore of the small Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay
Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay
Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay is a bay of Davis Strait in the Qeqqata municipality on the western coast of Greenland. It is located directly to the north of Sisimiut.- Geography :...

 reserved for a modern suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

-style housing slated for construction in the 2010s. Several professional and general schools are based in Sisimiut, providing education to the inhabitants of the town and to those from smaller settlements in the region. The new Taseralik Culture Center
Taseralik Culture Center
Taseralik Culture Center is a cultural center in Sisimiut, a town in western Greenland, the second-largest town in the country. Located in the eastern part of Sisimiut, on the shore of the small Nalunnguarfik lake, Taseralik is the second such center in Greenland, after Katuaq in Nuuk, the...

 is the second Cultural Center to be established in Greenland, after Katuaq
Katuaq Culture Centre
Katuaq is a cultural centre in Nuuk, Greenland. It is used for concerts, exhibitions, conferences, and as a cinema. Designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen, it was inaugurated on February 15, 1997.-Building:...

 in Nuuk.

The town has its own bus line, and is the northernmost year-round ice-free port in the country, a shipping base for western and northwestern Greenland. Supply ships head from the commercial port towards smaller settlements in more remote regions of 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...

, Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast archipelago of small islands in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay...

, and as far as Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq 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 the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...

 in northern Greenland. The town airport is 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...

, providing connections to other towns on the western coast of Greenland, and through Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large airliners, having more stable weather, being located further...

, to Europe.

Saqqaq culture

Sisimiut has been a settlement site for around 4,500 years, with the people of the Saqqaq culture
Saqqaq culture
The Saqqaq culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in Greenland.-Timeframe:...

 arriving from Arctic Canada during the first wave of immigration, occupying numerous sites on the coast of western Greenland. At that time, the shoreline was up to several dozen meters above the present line, gradually decreasing in time due to post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...

. The Saqqaq remained in western Greenland for nearly two millennia. Unlike the following waves of migrants in the millennium following their disappearance, the Saqqaq left behind a substantial number of artifacts, with plentiful archeological finds on the coast of Davis Strait, from Disko Bay
Disko Bay
Disko Bay is a bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.- Geography :To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries and small islands in the Aasiaat archipelago...

  in the north—to the coast of Labrador Sea
Labrador Sea
The Labrador Sea is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait...

 near Nuuk
Nuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...

 in the south.

Research at the Asummiut excavation site near the airport has uncovered the changing settlement pattern, exhibiting transition from the single-family dwellings to tiny villages of several families. The types of dwelling varied from tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...

 rings made of the hides
Hides
A hide is an animal skin treated for human use. Hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and furs from wild cats, mink and bears. In some areas, leather is produced on a domestic or small industrial scale, but most...

 of hunted mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s, to stone hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...

s, with no evidence of communal living in larger structures. In contrast, there is evidence for reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

 hunting as a coordinated effort of either villagers or groups of more loosely related individuals, with gathering places in proximity of the hunting grounds being found. Despite recent advances in DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 research based on hair samples from the ancient Saqqaq migrants (which gives insight into their origin), the reason for the decline and subsequent disappearance of the culture are not yet known.

Dorset culture

After several hundred years of no permanent habitation, the second wave of migration arrived from Canada, bringing the Dorset people to western Greenland. The first wave of immigrants, known as Dorset I, arrived around 500 BCE, inhabiting the region for the next 700 years. The early Dorset people were followed later by the Dorset II people, although no artifacts have been discovered from the later era around Sisimiut, and few artifacts from the era of Dorset I have been uncovered in archaeological sites, with the finds often limited to harpoon
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...

 heads and numerous animal bones. The largest number of Dorset culture artifacts can be found further north in the Disko Bay
Disko Bay
Disko Bay is a bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.- Geography :To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries and small islands in the Aasiaat archipelago...

 region, while the further to the south, the poorer the finds, disappearing completely on the coast of Labrador Sea in southwestern Greenland.

Thule people

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...

 of the Thule culture
Thule people
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...

—whose descendants form the majority of the current population—arrived nearly a thousand years ago, with the first arrivals dated to approximately 13th and 14th century. The Thule people were more technologically advanced that their Dorset predecessors, although they still relied on subsistence
Subsistence economy
A subsistence economy is an economy which refers simply to the gathering or amassment of objects of value; the increase in wealth; or the creation of wealth. Capital can be generally defined as assets invested with the expectation that their value will increase, usually because there is the...

 hunting, with 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, reindeer, and particularly the fur seal
Fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...

s constituting the base of the economy in the early period.

The shoreline was still at a higher altitude than today, with the Sisimiut valley east of the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay
Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay
Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay is a bay of Davis Strait in the Qeqqata municipality on the western coast of Greenland. It is located directly to the north of Sisimiut.- Geography :...

, partially under sea. Many artifacts and graves from the several centuries of permanent settlement remain scattered in the region. Rich in fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

, the coastal region from Sisimiut to Kangaamiut
Kangaamiut
Kangaamiut is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, with a population of 357 as of 2010.- Geography :...

 was particularly attractive for migrants, and due to a large number of historical artifacts it is currently listed as a candidate for the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

, with the application received in 2003.

Colonial era

There are no signs of Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

 settlement in the region. The Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 whalers
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 did not remain in the area for long. It wasn't until the early 18th century that a significant population of settlers from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 arrived. The first Europeans to settle permanently around Sisimiut were the Danes
Danes
Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...

. Hans Egede
Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede was a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact...

, the missionary to Greenland, arrived in 1721 and established his church in the vicinity. The first settlement, a whaling station at Nipisat in the area was located approximately 30 km (18.6 mi) to the north of the present-day town. In 1764 the settlement was moved to the present-day site. The colonists formally established several villages in the region, of which only two remain to this day: Itilleq
Itilleq
Itilleq is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Located 45 km south of Sisimiut on the shores of Davis Strait, it had 112 inhabitants in 2010.- History :...

 and Sarfannguit
Sarfannguit
Sarfannguit is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its population is 126 as of 2010...

.
Several eighteenth century buildings still stand in Sisimiut, among them the oldest church in Greenland—the Bethel church dating from 1775—and Gammelhuset (the old house), dating from 1725. The buildings were moved from the former site of the settlement at Ukiivik (Holsteinsborg) together with the rest of the settlement. The new church on the rocky pedestal was built in 1926, further extended in 1984. The entrance to the yard with the old church and other protected historical buildings is decorated with a unique gate made of whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...

 jawbone. In 1801, a smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

 epidemic decimated the population of Sisimiut and other coastal settlements, although the population growth quickly resumed due to plentiful marine life on the coast.

20th century - present

The twentieth century saw industrialization, through the construction of a shipping port, and a fish processing
Fish processing
The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer...

 factory of Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processing plants and ship bases of local subsidiary units...

 in 1924, the first such factory in Greenland. Fishing remains the primary occupation of Sisimiut inhabitants, with the town becoming the leading center of shrimping and shrimp processing
Shrimp fishery
A shrimp fishery is a fishery directed toward harvesting either shrimp or prawns. .-Commercial shrimping:...

. Until 2008 Sisimiut had been the administrative center of Sisimiut Municipality
Sisimiut Municipality
Sisimiut Municipality was a municipality in Greenland until 31 December 2008. Its administrative center was Sisimiut. Within its borders were also the settlements of Itilleq and Sarfannguaq, as well as the settlement of Kangerlussuaq, which has Greenland's largest airport. It was incorporated...

, which was then incorporated into the new Qeqqata
Qeqqata
Qeqqata is a new municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,677 as of January 2010. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut...

 Municipality on 1 January 2009, with Sisimiut retaining its status as the administrative center of the new unit, consisting also of the former Maniitsoq Municipality
Maniitsoq Municipality
Maniitsoq Municipality was a municipality in Greenland until 31 December 2008. Its administrative center was Maniitsoq. It was incorporated along with Sisimiut Municipality into the new Qeqqata municipality on 1 January 2009....

 and the previously unincorporated area of Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality, located at the head of a fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub, being the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport....

. The municipal council, seated in the town hall and headed by Mayor Hermann Berthelsen
Hermann Berthelsen
Hermann Berthelsen is a Greenlandic politician and affiliated with the Siumut party. As of July 2010 he is the mayor of Sisimiut, a town in central-western Greenland, and the administrative center of the Qeqqata municipality.-References:...

, consists of 13 members, including the mayor and his deputies, and representatives of the four primary political parties of Greenland: Siumut, Atassut, Democrats
Democrats (Greenland)
The Democrats are a liberal and social-liberal, political party in Greenland. At the legislative elections on the fifteenth of November 2005, the party won 22.8% of the popular vote, and seven out of 31 seats, rising from 2002 totals of 15.6% of the popular vote and five out of 31 seats...

 and Inuit Ataqatigiit
Inuit Ataqatigiit
Inuit Ataqatigiit is a leftist and separatist political party in Greenland. The party was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. The party strives to make Greenland an independent state.In the 2005 elections, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and seven out of...

.

Geography

Sisimiut is located approximately 320 km (198.8 mi) north of Nuuk, and 75 km (46.6 mi) north of 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....

, on the eastern shores of Davis Strait
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage....

, perched on a series of rocky outcrops at the western end of a large peninsula bounded from the north by the Kangerluarsuk Tulleq
Kangerluarsuk Tulleq
Kangerluarsuk Tulleq is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord is of roughly east-west orientation, emptying into Davis Strait in the west.- Geography :...

 fjord and from the south by the wide Amerloq Fjord
Amerloq Fjord
Amerloq Fjord is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord empties into Davis Strait just south of Sisimiut.- Geography :The fjord mouth is located at approximately south of the town of Sisimiut...

.

Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay

Immediately to the north of Sisimiut a small inlet of Davis Strait, the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay , separates the town from the Palasip Qaqqaa
Palasip Qaqqaa
Palasip Qaqqaa is a high mountain in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. It is located on the mainland of Greenland on the coast of Davis Strait, immediately to the north of Sisimiut Airport....

 massif in the north, at the southern foot of which the town airport is located. The 544 m (1,784.8 ft) high twin summit commands a wide view in all directions, with the majority of the coast of the Qeqqata municipality visible in good conditions.

The bay is navigable in its entirety, protected from the open sea by a series of skerries
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....

 in the west. Both the local port and the local sailing harbor are located on the southern shore of the bay. The 4.1 km (13,451.4 ft) road to the airport passes through the bridge over the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay. Halfway between the town and the airport there is a small beach of dark sand. The beach, as well as the skerries off the coast, are very popular in the summer.

Alanngorsuaq

To the east, a wide valley extends into the interior of the peninsula, bounded from the north by the conjoint massif of Palasip Qaqqaa and Majoriaq, dissected by the Qerrortusup Majoriaa valley alongside which leads the Polar Route from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. Depending on variants, the route is between 150 km (93.2 mi) and 170 km (105.6 mi) long.

In the middle of the valley towers a standalone Alanngorsuaq mountain (411 m (1,348.4 ft)), surrounded by several lakes, one of which serves Sisimiut town as a water reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

. The entire area of the valley is another popular picnic destination, with easy access to the water reservoirs by a gravel road in the middle part of the valley. The reservoirs in the valley provide the town waterworks with 882000 m³ (1,153,612.4 cu yd) of water, with the potential for 7200000 m³ (9,417,244.5 cu yd) annually.

Nasaasaaq

To the southeast, the valley is bounded by the Nasaasaaq massif with several distinct summits, the highest of which is 784 m (2,572.2 ft). The Nasaasaaq ridge has several summits. The main summit is the most prominent, rising over the remainder of the ridge in a tall 150 m (492.1 ft) cone at 784 m (2,572.2 ft). The ridge terminates in a 611 m (2,004.6 ft) trabant overlooking Sisimiut. To the east the ridge gradually falls to nearly 300 m (984.3 ft), before turning east-north-east towards the Aappilattorsuaq massif. The southern wall of Nasaasaaq falls directly to Amerloq Fjord. The northern wall is not a uniform surface, dissected by ledges, dihedrals, and ramps.

The main access route to the summit leads through one of the ramps to the saddle between the main summit and its western trabant. The passage on the top cone is secured by ropes for unprepared tourists. One of the variants of the Polar Route follows the coast of Amerloq Fjord at the base of the southern wall of Nasaasaaq. The main summit is visited for its long-range view of the coast, although more limited to the north than that of Palasip Qaqqaa to the north of the town airport. An alternative route to the top of interest to mountaineers leads through the hard to find low pass to the east of the main summit, and from there directly on the summit cone ridge.

Climate

Sisimiut lies within the polar climate
Polar climate
Regions with a polar climate are characterized by a lack of warm summers . Regions with polar climate cover over 20% of the Earth. The sun shines 24 hours in the summer, and barely ever shines at all in the winter...

 region, belonging to the E group of the Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

. The average temperature is 10 °C (50 °F) or lower throughout the year. The coldest months on average are February and March which have average highs of -10.2 C and -10.1 C respectively. The warmest months are July and August which have average highs of 9.8 °C (49.6 °F) and 9.3 °C (48.7 °F) respectively and are the only months of the year in which the average lows are above 1 °C (33.8 °F), both at 3.3 °C (37.9 °F). Precipitation is very low in Sisimiut, with the greatest amount of rainfall occurring in the second half of the year, between July and December, with August and September being the wettest months. The sea winds from Davis Strait moderate the climate, with the area known for its fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...

s.

Demographics

With 5,460 inhabitants as of 2010, Sisimiut is one of the fastest-growing towns in Greenland, with migrants from the smaller settlements reinforcing the trend. Apart from Kangerlussuaq, it is the only settlement in the Qeqqata municipality exhibiting stable growth patterns over the last two decades.

The gender imbalance
Human sex ratio
In anthropology and demography, the human sex ratio is the sex ratio for Homo sapiens . Like most sexual species, the sex ratio is approximately 1:1. In humans the secondary sex ratio is commonly assumed to be 105 boys to 100 girls, an assumption that is a subject of debate in the scientific...

 is evident in Sisimiut, with men consistently outnumbering women during the last two decades, running from 20% in 1991, to 13% in 2000 and 2010. Nearly 10% of the town's inhabitants as of 2010 were born outside Greenland, a decline from 16.5% in 1990 and 11.8% in 2000.

Housing

Most families in Sisimiut live in single-family houses, most often the traditional colorful wooden pre-fabricated buildings shipped from Denmark, and almost always raised or supported by a concrete foundation due to permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...

. In the 1960s, the then Danish authorities began construction of communal apartment blocks in most towns in Greenland, including Sisimiut.

Unlike in Nuuk, the modern environmental-friendly construction technologies have not yet arrived to Sisimiut, and as of 2010 the existing communal-block district remains in a state of partial disrepair. The Qeqqata municipality however is planning the town expansion in the 2010s, with the area north of the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay reserved for real estate. The new neighborhood will bear the name Akia.

Industry and services

Fishing is the principal industry in Sisimiut, with harvested stocks of shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

s, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

, halibut
Halibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...

 and cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

. The Royal Greenland fish processing plant at the port is the largest within Greenland and is amongst the most modern shrimp-shelling factories in the world. In 2008, supplied by 8 boats and the factory trawlers, the plant treated an annual amount of 20,180 tons of shrimps, around 1,680 tons per month. This was roughly constant throughout the year, although when fish catches were larger the fish was frozen. The plant eventually sold around 6,019 tonnes of shrimp. Hunting is also important to some of the local livelihoods, mainly seals
Fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...

, 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...

, beluga whale, narwhale, reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

 and muskoxen.
KNI
KNI (Greenland Trade)
KNI A/S is a state-owned trade company in Greenland. Led by Søren Lennert Mortensen, the company is based in Sisimiut.- History :KNI was founded in 1774 as Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel by the Danish colonial authorities as a state monopoly, thus sharing its origin with Royal Greenland, the...

 and its subsidiary Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq A/S is a state-owned chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland. Based in Sisimiut, it is a subsidiary of KNI, the largest commerce company in the country...

, a state-owned chain of all-purpose general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...

s in Greenland, are based in Sisimiut. The Pilersuisoq chain operates in all small settlements in the country, as well as smaller towns which are not covered by supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

 chains. A range of shops operate in Sisimiut, from chain supermarkets of Pisiffik
Pisiffik
Pisiffik A/S is the largest privately owned commerce company in Greenland. It is a subsidiary of Dagrofa, the Danish food concern, with a 85.8% stake. The Government of Greenland owns the remaining stake in Pisiffik through Greenland Venture...

 and Brugsen
Brugsen
right|thumb|250px|A Dagli'Brugsen in Northeast Copenhagen. Brugsen is a shorthand for the Danish word 'Brugsforeningen', which means consumers' cooperative. It is also the name of a Danish supermarket chain which was born as a consumers' cooperative....

 to independent outlets, also serving supplies to the smaller settlements in the region. Polaroil, a liquid fuel distribution company, is headquartered in Sisimiut. It employs 70 staff and operates 70 stations in Greenland. The headquarters were moved from Maniitsoq to Sisimiut in late 2000s. In 2010 KNI announced plans to also move the operational base of Polaroil from Maniitsoq to Sisimiut, causing protests in the former community already experiencing depopulation. Other facilities include two banks, a library, a Post Greenland
Post Greenland
Post Greenland is the company responsible for postal service in Greenland. The company is wholly owned by Tele Greenland A/S, operating under Greenland Home Rule...

 office and a small hospital/health center with 19 beds.

There are advanced plans for the Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...

 aluminium smelting
Aluminium smelting
Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore Bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery....

 plant. Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq is a town in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. With 2,784 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland...

, the second-largest town in the municipality, is another proposed location alongside Sisimiut. The plant would provide employment for 600–700 people, or more than 10% of the population. As it is a vital decision for the town, wide public consultations were carried out in 2008–2010 by both the town authorities and the Government of Greenland in order to address potential environmental and social concerns. The Sisimiut Hydro Power Plant
Sisimiut Hydro Power Plant
Sisimiut Hydro Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant near Sisimiut, Greenland. Construction started in March 2007 and the plant was commissioned on 7 April 2010. The initial capacity of the power plant is 15 MW. The construction included of concrete constructions, a blasted tunnel with...

 is under construction north of the town. The plant will have two turbines providing 15 megawatts
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

 of power. The electricity available to the town is nearly half of that number (8.2 megawatts), produced by diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

 generators. The electricity from the new plant will be transferred to Sisimiut by a new 27.4 km (17 mi) long high voltage line.
Although rainfall is low, Sismiut has abundant natural supplies of fresh, drinkable surface water, collected from a reservoir under Alanngorsuaq. Water is also pumped to the waterworks from another lake around 2.5 kilometers away in the mountains. The water mains are preinsulated and electrically anti-freezed so supply the residents during the winter months. The water supply network is capable of producing some 882,000 cubic meters of water per year; two water-supplying lakes by the town have a combined annual minimum capacity of more than 7.2 million cubic meters.

Tourism

Tourist facilities in Sisimiut include several youth hostels and hotels, such as Hotel Sisimiut
Hotel Sisimiut
Hotel Sisimiut is a hotel located at Aqqusinersuaq 86, in the northeastern outskirts of Sisimiut, Greenland. It is used regularly for conferences and contains one of the most notable restaurants in the town, Restaurant Nasaasaaq and Bar Aaveq....

 with Restaurant Nasaasaaq, and Seaman's Home, and a conference center. The other restaurant of note is the Misigisaq Restaurant
Misigisaq Restaurant
Misigisaq Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant located at the harbor in the town of Sisimiut in western Greenland. It is the only Chinese restaurant in the country and it uses Greenlandic ingredients cooked in the Chinese style....

, located at the harbor. It is the only Chinese restaurant in the country and it uses Greenlandic ingredients cooked in the Chinese style. The town has a heated open-air swimming pool, which is supported on stilts so that the heat does not melt the permafrost. Several camping sites are located in Sisimiut valley and near the Kangerluarsunnguaq bay. During winter, a ski lift operates at the foot of the Alanngorsuaq mountain, at the base of the northern slopes of Nasaasaaq
Nasaasaaq
Nasaasaaq is a high prominent mountain in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. It is located on the mainland of Greenland, immediately to the southeast of Sisimiut on the northern coast of Amerloq Fjord, a tributary of Davis Strait....

.

Tourism is becoming increasingly important, with several outfitter companies based in town. Year-round operations offered include dogsledding
Dog sled
A dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing.-History:...

, heliskiing
Heliskiing
Heliskiing is off-trail, downhill skiing that is accessed by a helicopter, not a ski lift. Heliskiing is essentially about skiing in a natural—albeit highly selected—environment without the effort or gear compromise required for hiking into these areas as in ski touring or ski mountaineering.Most...

, guided hiking, mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...

, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...

, and boating. The tough, 160 km (99.4 mi) long Arctic Circle Race takes place each winter, with the trail partially overlapping with the Polar Route from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. The race was inaugurated in 1998, since then becoming an international competition.

Education and culture

The Knud Rasmussen High School (Knud Rasmussenip Højskolia), founded in 1962, is located on the eastern outskirts of the town, west of the old heliport site. Apart from the traditional curriculum, it provides specialized courses in Greenland history and culture including skin preparation and ski instruction. The school is also notable for its special unit, the Women's High School added in 1977, and focusing on traditional arts. During summer, the school building is used as a hostel. In Autumn 2002, the school was responsible for erecting a series of stone sculptures around Sisimiut: near the airport, in the municipal building, at Gertrud Rask Minde-children's home, at Arnat Ilinniarfiat and around the school itself.

The other educational centers in Sisimiut are: Sanaartornermik Ilinniarfik, the construction engineering school with capacity for 200 students, the Arctic Technology Center; Piareersarfik, the vocational institution for the service industry professionals, and Oqaatsinik Pikkorissarfik, a foreign language school.

Sisimiut Museum

Located in a historical building near the harbor, Sisimiut Museum
Sisimiut Museum
Sisimiut Museum is a museum in Sisimiut, Greenland. Located in a historical building near the harbour, specialises in Greenlandic trade, industry and shipping, with artifacts based on ten years of archaeological research and excavations of the ancient Saqqaq culture settlements near the town,...

 specializes in Greenlandic trade, industry and shipping, with artifacts based on ten years of archaeological research and excavations of the ancient Saqqaq culture settlements near the town, offering an insight into the culture of the region of 4,000 years ago.

The museum also hosts a collection of tools and domestic items collected during 1902-22, an inventory from the old Church with the original altarpiece dated to approximately 1650, and paintings from the 1790s. The peat house reconstruction of an early 20th century Greenlandic residence with domestic furniture is part of an outdoor exhibition. The exhibition includes the remains of a kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

 from the 18th century and the Poul Madsen collection, a collection of handcraft, art, house items and ethnographic objects compiled over fifty years. The Greenlandic stone exhibition is housed in the Bygge og Anlægsskolen building.

Arts and crafts

The modern Taseralik Culture Center
Taseralik Culture Center
Taseralik Culture Center is a cultural center in Sisimiut, a town in western Greenland, the second-largest town in the country. Located in the eastern part of Sisimiut, on the shore of the small Nalunnguarfik lake, Taseralik is the second such center in Greenland, after Katuaq in Nuuk, the...

  is located in the eastern part of Sisimiut, on the shore of the Nalunnguarfik lake. The center often hosts traveling theatre troupes, as well as concerts, from classical to folk music. The Sisimiut Culture Day on 21 November is also celebrated at Taseralik. Greenlandic handicrafts, created in a workshop located in an old warehouse on the old harbor, are sold in the Greenland Travel Incoming's Arts n' Craft, and in several small shops along the main street. Greenland stones and sealskin products are created in the Natseq and Panigiit workshops.

Air

Sisimiut Airport
Sisimiut Airport
Sisimiut Airport is an airport located northwest of Sisimiut, a town in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The airport has a single runway designated 14/32 which measures , built on the northern shore of Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay....

 is located 4.1 km (2.5 mi) to the northwest of the town, at the mouth of the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay. Before the airport was opened in the 1990s, Sisimiut had been served by the now-closed heliport, located on the eastern outskirts of the town, in the Sisimiut valley. The airport has a short, 799 m (2,621.4 ft) runway suitable only for STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...

 airplanes. Travel outside of Greenland is routed with a change of planes at Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large airliners, having more stable weather, being located further...

. 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...

 operates scheduled services to Nuuk, Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq is a town in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. With 2,784 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland...

, and 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....

. Taxis as well as an infrequent town bus service connect the airport with the center of Sisimiut.

Sea

For most of the year, Sisimiut is served twice-weekly by coastal ferries of Arctic Umiaq Line
Arctic Umiaq Line
Arctic Umiaq Line A/S or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight line in Greenland. Its name derives from the Greenlandic word for a traditional Inuit boat, the umiaq. The sea connection provided by Arctic Umiaq is a lifeline for the entire western and southwestern Greenland...

 which link the communities of the western coast. There is also a weekly Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line A/S or Royal Arctic is a freight company in Greenland, formed in 1992 and headquartered in Nuuk. It has 650 employees and is owned by the Government of Greenland...

 ferry to Itilleq
Itilleq
Itilleq is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Located 45 km south of Sisimiut on the shores of Davis Strait, it had 112 inhabitants in 2010.- History :...

 and Sarfannguit
Sarfannguit
Sarfannguit is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its population is 126 as of 2010...

. The port in Sisimiut is the northernmost year-round ice-free port in Greenland, serving as the country's primary maritime base north of Nuuk. Supply ships from the port head north, serving the entire coast, from the 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...

 region, through Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast archipelago of small islands in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay...

, to Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq 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 the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...

 in the far north. M/S Akamalik, one of the largest ships in the fleet of Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processing plants and ship bases of local subsidiary units...

, is based in Sisimiut. Home to the first shipyard of Greenland dating from 1931, the port also handles more than 50 cruise liners per year. The local kayak club operates at the bay harbor east of the port.

Ground

Roads in Sisimiut, including the road to the airport, are surfaced, but there is no road linking Sisimiut to any other settlement. In the 2000s construction of the 170 km (105.6 mi) road to Kangerlussuaq was discussed for several years without resolution. The road would have been the first of its kind in Greenland, connecting two settlements, and reducing the need for passenger exchange at Kangerlussuaq Airport, the Air Greenland hub. The town has its own bus network. In winter dog sled
Dog sled
A dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing.-History:...

 routes are a key transport link to settlements further north.

Twin towns

Sisimiut is twinned with: - Albertslund Municipality, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 - Klaksvík
Klaksvík
Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands.The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands ....

, Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...



Sisimiut has friendship links with: - Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

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