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Qaanaaq is the world's northernmost municipality and the settlement of Siorapaluk is the northernmost inhabited place on Earth. Owing to the short distance to the North American continent, the region has been the gateway to Greenland for millennia. The most recent inuit immigration - a group from Baffin Island - took place only 130 years ago. In this area, you will come closest to the archetype of the traditional way of life of the Greenland hunter. They earn their living from hunting for seals, narwhales, walruses and polar bears, and hunting trips lasting several weeks are common.
(information from the
Greenland Tourism web site.
)
Page header photo above courtesy of: Qaanaaq Touristoffice. |
| Location | ||||
| Description: | The Danish Meteorological Institute operates a field station in Qaanaaq. DMI's area of activity comprises forecasting and warning services as well as continuous monitoring of weather, sea state, ionospheric, climate, and related environmental conditions in the atmosphere, over land and in the sea. | |||
| Phonetic pronunciation: | kay-nak | |||
| Country: | Greenland | |||
| State/Province/Region: | Qaanaaq | |||
| Altitude in feet: | 62 | |||
| Altitude in meters: | 19 | |||
| Latitude (Decimal, Degreesºmm'ss") : | 77.5º N 77º 30' N | |||
| Longitude (Decimal, Degreesºmm'ss") : | 69.5º W 69º 29' W | |||
| Environment Types Accessible at this Location | ||||
| Marine, Sea ice, Glacier, Coastal, Tundra | ||||
| Local History and Culture | ||||
| Description: | When the US airbase at Thule was expanded in 1953, the Inuit population was moved 100 kilometers to the north where an entirely new town was built, Qaanaaq. The number of inhabitants in Qaanaaq is about 650 and is slowly increasing. Most families here live in small single wooden houses painted in many different colors. There are no blocks with apartments. Danish Kroner is the currency used in Avanersuaq. There are no Banks in Qaanaaq, so it is not possible to exchange foreign currency The Avanersuaq (place of the farthest north) District containing Qaanaaq is the most northerly in Greenland and lies between 70 and 80 degrees North, stretching from Melville Bay in the south up to Smith Sound. There is archaeological evidence that suggests that the first settlers of Avanersuaq arrived some 5000 years ago after crossing Smith Sound from Canada. The direct ancestors of today's Inuit belonged to the ‘Thule' culture and reached Avanersuaq soon after 1000 A.D. Today, hunting sea mammals like seals, walrus and polar bear is still important to the Inughuit both as a source of food and also as a way of preserving their culture. | |||
| Primary Logistics Provider | ||||
| Organization: | Danish Meteorological Institute | |||
| Address: | B74 3971 Qaanaaq, Greenland | |||
| Telephone: | +299-971027 | |||
| Fax: | +299-971377 | |||
| E-mail: | dmi@dmi.dk | |||
| Contact person or agency web page: | http://geocities.com/thetropics/resort/9292/usionosf.html or http://www.dmi.dk/eng/index.html | |||
| Primary Management Agency | ||||
| Organization: | Ministry of Transport | |||
| Contact information: | Trafikministeriet Frederiksholms Kanal 27 1220 København K | |||
| Telephone: | +45-3392-3355 | |||
| Fax: | +45-3312-3893 | |||
| Email: | trm@trm.dk | |||
| Web site: | http://www.trafikministeriet.dk/ | |||
| Permits and Legal Issues | ||||
| Permit(s) required: | All research groups must have proper permits from the Danish Polar Center and the Greenland Home Rule Government. | |||
| Permitting agency web page: | http://www.dpc.dk/Res&Log/ProjectPlanner/Start.html | |||
| Insurance required: | If you plan activities in North Greenland around Qaanaaq you are not required to take out a Search and Rescue (SAR) insurance nor an evacuation insurance. Please email DPC ( ha@dpc.dk ) for detailed information on insurance. ( http://www.dpc.dk/Res&Log/ProjectPlanner/Safety/Start.html#insurance ) | |||
| Physical Access | ||||
| Air service, Helicopter, Shipping freight, Airstrip | ||||
| Accessibility: | The fiord is covered with sea ice normally from mid October until late July. In summer from the end of July until the beginning of October no permanent ice is covering the sea. At this time small fast boats with outboard engines are used for transportation. The small boats are fast but of course only used when weather is good and the sea is calm. Trips by boats can also be arranged by contacting the hotel in Qaanaaq. The dogsledge is still very important for transportation. | |||
| Air service description: | From Pituffik (Thule), Qaanaaq and the settlements are serviced by Greenlandair Charter's small Bell 212 helicopter with seats for 8 passengers. In the summer half year, settlements are usually serviced once or twice a week. In the winter half year, during total darkness, helicopter flying is more difficult so usually there will be only scheduled flights to the settlements twice every second week. Qaanaaq, is serviced by Air Greenland at the adjacent airport twice weekly with DASH-7 aircraft to and from Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk via Ilulissat. For research projects in Greenland funded by U.S. National Science Foundation the U.S. logistics operator VECO Polar Resources arranges transport of personnel and equipment on a limited space-available basis aboard N.Y. Air National Guard 109 th Airlift Wing flights from Scotia, New York, to Thule Air Base (Pituffik) and Kangerlussuaq and return. | |||
| Airstrip description: | In Qaanaaq there is a short private airstrip for smaller airplanes like DeHavilland turbo-prop Twin Otter. It is usually possible to get fuel if agreed to in advance. In summer and spring, Twin Otters often land here bringing in passengers and tourists directly from Canada. This same traffic is frequent in the spring, but then planes will normally land on an air strip marked with barrels on sea ice right outside Qaanaaq. | |||
| Commercial air services: | -Air Greenland, Box 1012, DK-3900, Nuuk, Greenland (Tel.: +299-343434, Fax: +299-327288, Email: info@airgreenland.gl , Web: http://www.greenland-guide.gl/gla/default.htm ) | |||
| Information on the most practical way to send freight: | Most heavy freight is usually delivered by ship. The first ship of the year normally arrives at Qaanaaq about the 1st of August. The last ship will usually leave southbound in the middle of September. Two or three ships bring in heavy supplies and machines for construction and all kinds of supplies needed to be stored for the next ten months until the ships return again the following summer. There is no seaport in Qaanaaq so the handling of ships sometimes is very slow and difficult because of the current and icebergs. The loading and unloading of ships is done with a motorized barge (like the ones for military use) and only in fair weather. Because of a long reef just outside Qaanaaq it is only possibly to work when the tide is high. | |||
| Other Local Resources | ||||
| Resource: | Qaanaaq Digisonde | |||
| Contact information: | Ionosonde drift data from the station at Qaanaaq, Greenland Bodo Reinisch Center for Atmospheric Research 600 Suffolk St University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA 01854 Tel.: 978-934-4903 Fax: 978-459-7915 Email: bodo_reinisch@uml.edu The Qaanaaq Digisonde is owned and operated by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Hanscom Air Force Base. The data is analyzed, processed and supplied by the University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Atmospheric Research under contract with AFRL. | |||
| Resource: | Accommodation and Dining | |||
| Contact information: | -Hotel Qaanaaq, Box 88, DK-3971, Qaanaaq, Greenland (Tel.: +299-971234, Fax: +299-971064, Email: hansje@greennet.gl , Web: http://iserit.greennet.gl/hansje ) The town is not commercialized but one of the local attractions is the "Polar Grill". In the season one can drop in and have a hot dog or a roasted chicken. | |||
| Infrastructure | ||||
| Running water, Electricity, Heat | ||||
| Electricity specifications: | Please notice that electricity in Greenland is 220 volt 50HZ. | |||
| Mail service: | Since there is only one weekly flight carrying mail from the "outside" to the Thule Air Base, this of course allows mail delivery only once a week. However in winter, when the weather "grounds" helicopter flights, mail delivery may be delayed for a week or more. | |||
| Comments on infrastructure: | In Qaanaaq it is very expensive to get water. In June, July, and August water is melted from the ice cap on the mountain behind the city. The water is picked up in a large tank (2000 kbm) and used in wintertime when the river is frozen. In the winter a wheel loader and truck drive out on ice and dig ice out from frozen icebergs, then carry it back to town and place it in our meltingvat. Nearly all residents get water from the watertanker several time a week. Most of the heat for houses in the central part of the city comes from an OPV heat station, and many private houses/buildings uses small oil burners. | |||
| Communications and Data Systems | ||||
| Internet access, Telephone system, Fax send/receive, Radio communications | ||||
| Data processing: | Because of the unstable mail deliveries, high tech communications are well developed. Telephone, fax and Internet are fully functional at any time. | |||
| Medical Facilities/Services Available | ||||
| Hospital | ||||
| Hospital: | -Qaanaaq hospital (Tel.: +299 971024) Qaanaaq has a well equipped and functional hospital. Usually there is only one doctor, a nurse and several health workers employed. The dentist visits the town two times a year and usually stays for about two months. All treatments in the medical centers in Greenland are free. | |||
| Medical evacuation information: | Some times emergency evacuations are needed to Qaanaaq. It is usually by helicopter, boat, snowscooter, or dogsledge. If weather is bad, it is usualy necessary to use the old "ambulance" - a big sledge with a tent raised on it. Depending on weather and ice condition, it will be pulled by dogs or snowscooter. | |||
| Weather Information and Statistics | ||||
| Weather information source for the research area: | A five day forecast for Qaanaaq can be obtained at: http://www.wunderground.com/auto/sfgate/global/stations/04201.html | |||
| Annual average high temperature (*C): | 12 | |||
| Annual average high temperature (*F): | 53.6 | |||
| Annual average low temperature (*C): | -40 | |||
| Annual average low temperature (*F): | -40 | |||
| Maps | ||||
| Online maps: | A map of the Qaanaaq region is available by clicking on maps at: http://www.turistqaanaaq.gl/eng/index.html | |||
| Current Projects and Research History | ||||
| Research sources: | Click here for information on research in the vicinity of Qaanaaq from the database of Veco Polar Resources. | |||