Kangerlussuaq

File:Sugar-loaf-kangerlussuaq-greenland.jpg under Sugarloaf, Kangerlussuaq]]

Kangerlussuaq occupies an alluvial flatland on the far end of the 190 km long{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/554301/Kangerlussuaq|title=Kangerlussuaq|author=Encyclopædia Britannica|author-link=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2010-04-26}} Kangerlussuaq Fjord, straddling both sides of the Qinnguata Kuussua river estuary. On the East of Kangerlussuaq is a confluence of the two major regional rivers, the Qinnguata Kuussua and Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua. The valley of the latter forms large quicksand plains. Both rivers originate from the Russell Glacier. The edge of the glacier is easily accessible and is a major tourist attraction from the town, as is the edge of the ice sheet in the Isunngua highlands to its northeast.{{cite map|publisher=Greenland Tourism a/s|title=Vandrekort Vestgrønland: Kangerlussuaq|cartography=Compukort, Denmark|edition=1996}}

Highlands such as Tarajornitsut bound Kangerlussuaq from the north and south. To the southeast behind lake Tasersuatsiaq, which provides fresh water to the town,{{cite web |url=http://www.ipy.dk/IPY_service_manual.doc |title=International Polar Year |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714082211/http://www.ipy.dk/IPY_service_manual.doc |archive-date=2007-07-14 }} is the vast highland of Ammalortup Nunaa, the original region artificially populated with 27 muskoxen.{{cite book|last=O'Carroll|first=Etain|title=Greenland and the Arctic|publisher=Lonely Planet|page=166|year=2005|isbn=1-74059-095-3}}

The town is situated about {{convert|50|km|mi|sp=us}} north of the Arctic Circle, and is the starting point for the Arctic Circle Trail.

File:Russells-gletscher-kangerlussuaq-greenland.jpg, flowing down from Sermersuaq. Visible is the fresh meltwater outflow and remains of berg bombardment.]]

Kangerlussuaq was founded at the east end of Kangerlussuaq fjord as Bluie West-8 on 7 October 1941, under the supervision of Colonel Bernt Balchen of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Following the fall of Denmark to Germany in World War II, US forces assumed security for Greenland, building several bases including Bluie West-1 to the south in Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at the Kangerlussuaq fjord.

The base briefly came under Danish control in 1950, but following mounting concerns about the Cold War threat, a new agreement saw the United States reopen Bluie West-8 under the name of Sondrestrom Air Base on 27 April 1951.

It served as one of the Distant Early Warning Line bases and a supply station for similar early warning facilities. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the usefulness of the base was greatly diminished and the last U.S. Air Force personnel left the base on 30 September 1992. The base subsequently came under Greenlandic Home Rule and was renamed using the Kalaallisut dialect of the West Greenland Inuit.

This site and Bluie West-1 in Narsarsuaq remain Greenland's best-equipped airports. Almost all of the permanent structures in the town were built during the American occupation of the site.

The climate in Kangerlussuaq is subarctic (Köppen Dfc), bordering on tundra climate (Köppen ET) and unusually for somewhere this far north (in the Arctic Circle), a cold-semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with the area receiving very little rainfall.{{cite web|url=http://en.allmetsat.com/climate/arctic.php?code=04231|title=Climate : Kangerlussuaq, Kangerlussuaq Airport, Greenland|last=allmetsat|access-date=7 September 2016}}

{{Weather box|width=75%

|location = Kangerlussuaq (south-west), elevation: 50 m, 1991–2020 normals

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 12.3

|Feb record high C = 13.9

|Mar record high C = 14.4

|Apr record high C = 17.8

|May record high C = 22.4

|Jun record high C = 25.2

|Jul record high C = 26.6

|Aug record high C = 22.9

|Sep record high C = 21.1

|Oct record high C = 17.1

|Nov record high C = 15.8

|Dec record high C = 11.9

|Jan high C = -13.5

|Feb high C = -14.8

|Mar high C = -10.8

|Apr high C = -0.9

|May high C = 8.4

|Jun high C = 15.3

|Jul high C = 16.8

|Aug high C = 14.0

|Sep high C = 7.7

|Oct high C = -0.8

|Nov high C = -7.0

|Dec high C = -10.5

|Jan mean C = -18.5

|Feb mean C = -19.8

|Mar mean C = -16.6

|Apr mean C = -6.2

|May mean C = 3.6

|Jun mean C = 10.0

|Jul mean C = 11.2

|Aug mean C = 8.7

|Sep mean C = 3.5

|Oct mean C = -4.6

|Nov mean C = -11.3

|Dec mean C = -15.2

|Jan low C = -23.3

|Feb low C = -24.9

|Mar low C = -22.2

|Apr low C = -11.6

|May low C = -1.7

|Jun low C = 4.2

|Jul low C = 5.0

|Aug low C = 3.3

|Sep low C = -1.0

|Oct low C = -8.7

|Nov low C = -15.7

|Dec low C = -19.9

|Jan record low C = -47.2

|Feb record low C = -46.8

|Mar record low C = -45.4

|Apr record low C = -34.4

|May record low C = -21.8

|Jun record low C = -4.7

|Jul record low C = -0.7

|Aug record low C = -4.8

|Sep record low C = -15.4

|Oct record low C = -29.7

|Nov record low C = -36.3

|Dec record low C = -45.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 7.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 6.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 5.2

|Apr precipitation mm = 7.6

|May precipitation mm = 10.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 13.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 27.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 31.7

|Sep precipitation mm = 22.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 13.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 11.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 9.8

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days =2.9

| Feb precipitation days =2.0

| Mar precipitation days =1.7

| Apr precipitation days =2.3

| May precipitation days =2.8

| Jun precipitation days =3.4

| Jul precipitation days =5.2

| Aug precipitation days =6.9

| Sep precipitation days =5.2

| Oct precipitation days =3.8

| Nov precipitation days =3.9

| Dec precipitation days =3.2

| Jan humidity =70.2

| Feb humidity =68.1

| Mar humidity =66.5

| Apr humidity =64.1

| May humidity =57.7

| Jun humidity =55.1

| Jul humidity =57.2

| Aug humidity =64.8

| Sep humidity =67.3

| Oct humidity =72.9

| Nov humidity =72.6

| Dec humidity =71.4

| source 1 = Danish Meteorological Institute{{Cite web|title=Klimanormaler Grønland|url=http://www.dmi.dk/vejrarkiv/normaler-gronland/|website=DMI|language=da|access-date=2023-02-28}}{{Cite web|title=Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 Greenland|url=https://www.dmi.dk/fileadmin/Rapporter/2021/DMI_report_21_12_Greenland.pdf|website=DMI|access-date=2023-03-01}}

|source 2 =NOAA{{cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-VI/GL/04231.TXT |title=NOAA}}

|date= October 2014

}}

In July 2012 a gust of warm air resulted in glacier meltwater which wiped out a key crossing of the Watson River.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/25/greenland-glacier-bridge-destroyed-video|title=Meltwater from Greenland glacier wipes out key crossing|first1=Suzanne|last1=Goldenberg|date=25 July 2012|access-date=7 September 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78685&src=iotdrss |title=Flooding in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland : Image of the Day |date=27 July 2012 |publisher=Earthobservatory.nasa.gov |access-date=2016-09-07}}[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/26/greenland-ice-sheet-borrowed-time Greenland's ice sheet is melting fast – I'm not surprised. The ice sheet has been living on borrowed time for many years, with dire consequences] 26 July 2012

The population of Kangerlussuaq dropped significantly after the liquidation of the Sondrestrom Air Base. Since then it has increased by more than 80%, although it has begun dropping again in recent years.

{{wide image|Kangerlussuaq-population-dynamics.png|1000px|alt=Kangerlussuaq population dynamics|Kangerlussuaq population growth dynamics, 1991–2010. Source: Statistics Greenland}}

{{main|Kangerlussuaq Airport}}

File:Kangerlussuaq Airport terminal (Quintin Soloviev).png terminal]]

Until November 2024, Kangerlussuaq Airport was the only civilian airport in Greenland large enough to support large long-range airplanes such as Boeing 747s, so it long served as Greenland's most important transport hub. Hotel Kangerlussuaq operates at the airport.

Kangerlussuaq Fjord is navigable in its entire length. There is a seaport at Kangerlussuaq, {{convert|20|km}} west of Kangerlussuaq Airport. It is fairly shallow and suitable for small ships only, mainly used by supply ships of the Royal Arctic Line, and unusable in winter.{{cite web |url=http://www.qeqqata.gl/OmKommunen/ByogBygder/Kangerlussuaq/tabid/64/language/da-DK/Default.aspx |title=Qeqqata Kommunia – Kangerlussuaq |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130903003139/http://www.qeqqata.gl/OmKommunen/ByogBygder/Kangerlussuaq/tabid/64/language/da-DK/Default.aspx |archive-date=2013-09-03 }} (Danish) Cruise ships, such as Norway's Hurtigruten,{{Cite web |url=http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/explorer-voyages/Greenland/ |title=Hurtigruten.co.uk |access-date=2014-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211090126/http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/explorer-voyages/Greenland/ |archive-date=2014-02-11 |url-status=dead }} navigate the fjord, anchoring outside the port. They go to Kangerlussuaq mainly to exchange passengers by air, because the travel time to and from Greenland is too long for many passengers.

Plans were approved in 2018 to build a new deep port, around {{convert|10|km}} west of the present one, together with a road to it.{{cite web|url=https://naalakkersuisut.gl/~/media/Nanoq/Files/Attached%20Files/Natur%20Miljoe%20og%20Justitsomraede/Annoncering/VVM-godkendelse%20af%20anl%C3%A6gsprojektet%20Ny%20havn%20og%20vej%20ved%20Kanglerlussuaq%20-%20DK.pdf |title=VVM-godkendelse af anlægsprojektet "Ny havn og vej ved Kangerlussuaq" |date=2018-11-23|access-date=2019-07-25|publisher=Naalakkersuisut}}

File:Umimmak-sign-kangerlussuaq.jpg ({{langx|kl|umimmak}}) road sign just outside Kangerlussuaq]]

File:Kangerlussuaq 0165.jpg

Kangerlussuaq has the largest road network outside any settlement in Greenland (not counting streets inside the settlement).

A gravel road through Isunngua connects Kangerlussuaq with the ice sheet, initially serving as venue for car endurance experiments. Since then it has been mainly used for tourist purposes.[http://www.sisimiut.gl/Tourism/Towns/Kangerlussuaq.aspx Sisimiut.gl]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

There are plans to construct a road to Sisimiut ({{cvt|170|km}}) as of 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://naalakkersuisut.gl/da/Naalakkersuisut/Nyheder/2017/11/1411_arbejdsgruppe|title=Nedsættelse af arbejdsgruppe om vej mellem Sisimiut og Kangerlussuaq – Naalakkersuisut|access-date=2017-11-21|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044336/http://naalakkersuisut.gl/da/Naalakkersuisut/Nyheder/2017/11/1411_arbejdsgruppe|url-status=dead}} The cost estimates have been between 250 and 500 million Danish kroner (DKK), depending on road quality, and therefore the plans are delayed. The drive time would be much longer than the fly time, and there are also considerations to move the main hub of Air Greenland to Nuuk Airport, closing Kangerlussuaq airport.

A road to Sisimiut with a low quality, aimed to off-road vehicles was built 2020-2021,[https://www.arctictoday.com/greenlands-first-road-project-connecting-settlements-clears-its-last-hurdle/ Greenland’s first road project connecting settlements clears its last hurdle]{{Cite web |url=https://polarjournal.ch/en/2020/06/24/first-overland-road-project-between-greenlandic-towns/ |title=First overland road project between Greenlandic towns |access-date=2020-07-20 |archive-date=2022-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818104301/https://polarjournal.ch/en/2020/06/24/first-overland-road-project-between-greenlandic-towns/ |url-status=dead }} at a cost of 25 million DKK.{{cite web |url=https://bygge-anlaegsavisen.dk/historisk-vejprojekt-mellem-sisimiut-og-kangerlussuaq-undervejs |title=Historisk vejprojekt mellem Sisimiut og Kangerlussuaq undervejs |date=2021-05-11 |publisher=Bygge- & Anlægsavisen |access-date=2022-04-10 |quote= |language=Danish |trans-title=Historic road project between Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq ongoing}}[https://sermitsiaq.ag/node/232296 ATV-sporet mellem Kangerlussuaq og Sisimiut er færdig] There are hopes that the road will be rebuilt to a proper paved road in future.

File:Kelly Ville 0174.jpg

From 1982 to 2018, an ionospheric and atmospheric research facility known as the Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility was situated at about {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=out}} west of Kangerlussuaq. It was commonly known around the town as Kellyville. It was operated by SRI International for the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Danish Meteorological Institute. The facility was host to more than 20 instruments, the majority of which provide unique and complementary information about the arctic upper atmosphere. The centerpiece instrument of the facility was an L band incoherent scatter (IS) radar with a {{convert|32|m|ft|adj=on}} fully steerable antenna. It was transported from Alaska to Kangerlussuaq in 1983.{{cite web|url=http://isr.sri.com/about.html|title=About Sondrestrom|work=Sondrestrom Research Facility|publisher=SRI International|accessdate=2022-05-27}}

{{wide image|Panorama of Kangerlussuaq from Black Ridge.jpg |900px|A panorama of Kangerlussuaq taken from Black Ridge, 2013}}

{{reflist}}

• {{commons category-inline|Kangerlussuaq}}
• {{Wikivoyage inline}}

{{Settlements in Greenland}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Populated places established in 1941

Category:Populated places in Greenland

Category:Populated places of Arctic Greenland

Category:1941 establishments in Greenland