Ukkusissat is a settlement 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...

. The population of the settlement was 170 in 2010.

Geography

The settlement abuts the northwestern tip of the peninsula of the same name, jutting from the mainland to the west and northwest and into the inner waterways of 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...

 system.

To the north of the settlement, Perlerfiup Kangerlua

Perlerfiup Kangerlua

Perlerfiup Kangerlua is a fjord in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is a tributary fjord of the larger Uummannaq Fjord system.- Geography :...

, a large inner fjord empties into the main branch of Uummannaq Fjord.

To the south and southwest across Torsukattak Strait are the high mountains of the Salleq Island

Salleq Island

Salleq Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is located in the north-central part of the Uummannaq Fjord...

 and the much larger Appat Island

Appat Island

Appat Island is an uninhabited island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. At , it is one of the larger islands in the Uummannaq Fjord system, located in its north-central part....

, alongside the flat Qeqertat 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....

.

Economy

Fishing is the main occupation in Ukkusissat, with the fish processing plant located at the harbour; many inhabitants employed at 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...

. Reinvigoration of 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...

 activities in the nearby Maamorilik

Maamorilik

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

 site−located northeast of the settlement on the northern side of Perlerfiup Kangerlua−will provide an economic boost to the local economy.

The community in Ukkusissat is served by 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...

, an all-purpose communal store. Tourism is underdeveloped, although during summer the settlement is visited by cruise ships, such as Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

's Hurtigruten

Hurtigruten

Hurtigruten or Hurtigruta is a Norwegian passenger and freight line with daily sailings along Norway's western and northern coast. Sometimes referred to in English as Norwegian Coastal Express, Hurtigruten ships sail almost the entire length of the country, completing the roundtrip journey in 11...

. The harbour in Ukkusissat cannot handle ships large ships due to shallow coastal waters.

Air

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...

 serves the village as part of government contract, with flights between Ukkusissat Heliport and Uummannaq Heliport

Uummannaq Heliport

Uummannaq Heliport is a heliport in Uummannaq, a town located on Uummannaq Island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. There are no facilities in the heliport.-Airlines and destinations:...

. Check-in for the helicopter flights is administered at Pilersuisoq.

Ground

In mid-winter, the only means of communication with Uummannaq and other settlements of the area is by dogsled

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:...

, as district helicopters do not service the settlement at that time of year.

Population

The population of Ukkusissat has dropped by more than 12 percent relative to the 1990 levels, and by more than a quarter relative to the 2000 levels, decreasing in nearly every year of the last decade, and reflecting a general trend in the region.

External links

• sermitsiaq.gl Ukkusissat: Greenland masters in hospitality by Malik Milfeldt