Ittoqqortoormiit (which means “big house” in Greenlandic, also called Scoresbysund in Danish) is a small village situated on the Scoresby Sund (Kangertittivaq, in Greenlandic), a huge fjord on the east coast of Greenland. The population is composed of 537 inhabitants (2005).
Ittoqqortoormiit is located on Liverpool Land, near the mouth of the northern shore of the Kangertittivaq fjord, which empties into the Greenland Sea. It is a few hundred kilometers southeast of the National Park Northeast Greenland, which is guarded by gamekeepers moving sled dogs who call the Sirius Patrol. The place is known for its fauna and flora which includes polar bears, musk oxen, and sea lions musqués, et des lions de mer.
History
Inside Ittoqqortoormiit church
In 1822, the Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby was the first to map the area and gave his name to the fjord.
Ittoqqortoormiit was founded in 1925 by Ejnar Mikkelsen and 70 Inuit settlers disembarked from the ship Gustav Holm.
Until 31 December 2008, it was the administrative center of the municipality Ittoqqortoormiit, which is now part of the municipality of Sermersooq.
Transport
Ittoqqortoormiit is one of the most remote places inhabited Greenland. It can be reached by helicopter while it is accessible by boat a few days per year. It really is served by Ittoqqortoormiit Heliport, with Air Greenland helicopters shuttling passengers among the settlement and Nerlerit Inaat Airport, the latter also reachable by boat. You’ll find two Air Iceland weekly departures from Reykjavík, synchronized with flights to Kulusuk in southeastern Greenland. Air Greenland delivers indirect air communication with all the rest in the nation from Kulusuk.
Economy
Bust of Danish Explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen
Regional hunters have for generations created a residing from whale and polar bear hunting, and it remains, as much as the present, a substantial cultural-economical element within the region. Flesh and by-products play a direct component inside the economic climate on the hunting households. Revenue is gained by trading these items, but these solutions are seasonal and variable.
Ittoqqortoormiit lies close to significant populations of shrimp and Greenland halibut, however the presence of sea ice prevents the exploitation of those resources year-round, and because of this fishing has under no circumstances been extensively created inside the municipality.
Tourism, then again, is increasing in significance. The buildings in the abandoned Uunarteq settlement are utilised from the regional inhabitants as cottages for the duration of summer time.
Images
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ittoqqortoormiit_top_hg.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scoresbysund.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ittoqqortoormiit_mikkelsen_hg.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ittoqqortoormiit_church_hg.jpg
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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