| Ivittuut | |
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| The cryolite mine in Ivittuut in 1940 | |
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Ivittuut
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| Coordinates: | |
| State | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country | Greenland |
| Municipality | Sermersooq |
| Abandoned | 1980s |
| Time zone | UTC-03 |
Ivittuut (old spelling: Ivigtût) is an abandoned mining town in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It holds the record for Greenland's highest recorded temperature of 30.1 °C (86.2 °F).[1] The lowest recorded temperature was −28.9 °C (−20.0 °F). The name of the settlement means the grassy place in Greenlandic.[2] The town has a 5 kilometer road that connects it to Kangilinnguit. Ivittuut is also the only town in Greenland to have roads leading to another town.
| Climate data for Ivittuut | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) |
14.4 (57.9) |
15.6 (60.1) |
16.1 (61.0) |
23.3 (73.9) |
30.1 (86.2) |
23.3 (73.9) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
15.6 (60.1) |
30.1 (86.2) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −4.4 (24.1) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
3.3 (37.9) |
8.3 (46.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
12.8 (55.0) |
8.3 (46.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
4.3 (39.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
0.6 (33.1) |
3.9 (39.0) |
5.6 (42.1) |
5.0 (41.0) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −27.8 (−18.0) |
−28.9 (−20.0) |
−27.2 (−17.0) |
−20.6 (−5.1) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
−26.7 (−16.1) |
−28.9 (−20.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 83.8 (3.299) |
66.0 (2.598) |
86.4 (3.402) |
63.5 (2.5) |
88.9 (3.5) |
81.3 (3.201) |
78.7 (3.098) |
94.0 (3.701) |
149.9 (5.902) |
144.8 (5.701) |
116.8 (4.598) |
78.7 (3.098) |
1,132.8 (44.598) |
| Source: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial[3] | |||||||||||||
Ivittuut stands at the site of the Norse Middle Settlement, which is sometimes considered part of the Western Settlement. This was the smallest of the three settlements, including about 20 farms, and less is known about it than about either of the others, as no written records survive. Consequently, no names are known for any of the settlement's farmsteads. It was probably established latest, and abandoned soonest, of the three.
In 1806, cryolite was found in the area, with mining operations starting in 1865. The mineral deposits were exhausted by 1987,[4] and the town lost its economic base. It was abandoned soon after.
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