Uummannaq
Encyclopedia
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. Founded in 1763, the town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry.
Uummannaq is located 590 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle
, on Uummannaq Island
located in the south-central arm of the Uummannaq Fjord
. Uummannaq is also the general name given to the series of inlets north of the promontory at Niaqornat
on the Nuussuaq Peninsula
.
, rising very sharply to the height of 1170m. Climbing it requires technical skills.
operates air services to Qaarsut
from Uummannaq Heliport
. The neighbouring villages in the Uummannaq area are served by district cargo helicopters. In summer months, Royal Arctic Line
operates its 'bygdeservice' with sailings by small ships to its neighbouring villages, including a service to Qaarsut.
and Greenlandic children believe that Santa Claus
lives in Spraglebugten bay in the west of the island. A turf hut (Santa's Castle) was built there for a Danish television programme and remains Santa's home in the popular imagination.
Scottish singer KT Tunstall
's third album Tiger Suit
features the track "Uummannaq Song", which was inspired by her trip to the town in September 2008 with Cape Farewell.
Uummannaq is home to Uummannaq Music - the world's northernmost music platform on sea ice.
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...
. 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. Founded in 1763, the town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry.
Geography
Uummannaq is located 590 kilometres 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 Uummannaq Island
Uummannaq Island
Uummannaq Island is a small island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. Located in the south-central part of the Uummannaq Fjord, it is home to the most prominent mountain on the Arctic coast of western Greenland, and to Uummannaq, the largest town north of Ilulissat.The...
located in the south-central arm 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...
. Uummannaq is also the general name given to the series of inlets north of the promontory at Niaqornat
Niaqornat
Niaqornat is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. Niaqornat means “the head-shaped” in Greenlandic. The settlement is located on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, with a wide view over Uummannaq Fjord...
on the 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...
.
Uummannaq Mountain
The island is also home to Uummannaq MountainUummannaq (mountain)
Uummannaq is a high, prominent, isolated mountain in northwestern Greenland, located on the small Uummannaq Island in the central part of the Uummannaq Fjord. It entirely dominates the landscape of the island, its base occupying its entire northern half. Formed of granite and basement gneiss, it...
, rising very sharply to the height of 1170m. Climbing it requires technical skills.
Transport
Air GreenlandAir 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 air services to Qaarsut
Qaarsut
Qaarsut is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. It is situated on the northeastern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula...
from 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:...
. The neighbouring villages in the Uummannaq area are served by district cargo helicopters. In summer months, 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...
operates its 'bygdeservice' with sailings by small ships to its neighbouring villages, including a service to Qaarsut.
Culture
DanishDenmark
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...
and Greenlandic children believe that Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
lives in Spraglebugten bay in the west of the island. A turf hut (Santa's Castle) was built there for a Danish television programme and remains Santa's home in the popular imagination.
Scottish singer KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
's third album Tiger Suit
Tiger Suit
Tiger Suit is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released by Relentless Records in Ireland on 24 September 2010, in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2010 and in the United States and Canada on 5 October 2010...
features the track "Uummannaq Song", which was inspired by her trip to the town in September 2008 with Cape Farewell.
Uummannaq is home to Uummannaq Music - the world's northernmost music platform on sea ice.
Notable residents
- Ole Jørgen HammekenOle Jørgen HammekenOle Jørgen Hammeken − born in 1956 in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, of Maritha and Motzflot Hammeken − is a Greenlandic explorer and social worker, based in Uummannaq, a town in northwestern Greenland.- Polar exploration:...
, polar explorer - Hans Grøndvold, discoverer of the Greenlandic mummiesMummyA mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
in QilakitsoqQilakitsoqQilakitsoq is an archaeological site on Nuussuaq Peninsula, on the shore of Uummannaq Fjord in northwestern Greenland. Formally a settlement, it is famous for the discovery of eight mummified bodies in 1972.- Archaeological finds :... - SiissisoqSiissisoqSiissisoq is a Greenlandic hard rock band, formed in 1998 in Uummannaq. They have released their first album, Aammarpassuillu, in 1998, and it stayed number one on Greenlandic charts for two months. Siissisoq means Rhino in Greenlandic. The lyrics are sung in Greenlandic and deal mainly with...
, a Greenlandic rockband - Nukaaka Coster-WaldauNukaaka Coster-WaldauNukaaka Coster-Waldau is a Greenlandic singer, actress, and a former Miss Greenland. She is married to Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau....
, actress, singer, former Miss Greenland and wife of Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau