Narsarsuaq
| Narsarsuaq | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Narsarsuaq | |
| Coordinates: 61°08′45″N 45°26′05″W / 61.14583°N 45.43472°WCoordinates: 61°08′45″N 45°26′05″W / 61.14583°N 45.43472°W | |
| State |
 Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |
 Greenland |
| Municipality |
 Kujalleq |
| Government[1] | |
| • Mayor | Jørgen Lund |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 158 |
| Time zone | UTC-03 |
| Postal code | 3923 |
Narsarsuaq (old spelling: Narssarssuaq) is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 158 inhabitants in 2010.[2] There is a thriving tourism industry in and around Narsarsuaq, whose attractions include a great diversity of wildlife, gemstones, tours to glaciers, and an airfield museum. The name of the settlement means great plain in Greenlandic.
History
Narsarsuaq is located by the Eastern Settlement of the Norsemen, which existed in the times of Erik the Red, whose important Brattahlíð farm is believed to have been located west of Narsarsuaq, in Qassiarsuk across the Tunulliarfik Fjord. There are the traces of the early Norse settlement and a replica of the first Christian church on the American continent.[3]
In 1941, the United States built an air base at Narsarsuaq called Bluie West One. Thousands of planes used BW1 as a stepping stone on their way from the aircraft factories in North America to the battlegrounds of Europe. After the end of the war, BW1 continued to be developed, but it was rendered surplus by the advent of mid-air refueling and the construction of the larger Thule Air Base in northern Greenland. In 1951, it was agreed that Denmark and the U.S. would jointly oversee the airbase; in 1958, the U.S. abandoned it, but it was reopened the following year by the Danish government after the loss of the vessel Hans Hedtoft with all souls south off Cape Farewell.[4] The ruins of a former military hospital can still be found in the vicinity of the settlement.
Transport
Narsarsuaq Airport serves as the principal airfield in southwestern Greenland, with seasonal international flights from Iceland operated by Air Iceland and Denmark operated by Jet Time for Air Greenland, feeding the commuter flights from communities of southern Greenland operated by Air Greenland. Small planes crossing the Atlantic sometimes replicate the North Atlantic Ferry Route, stopping at Narsarsuaq Airport and other WWII airfields, including Goose Bay, Newfoundland in Canada and Reykjavík in Iceland.
A 3 mile (5km) gravel road is maintained between Qassiarsuk and Narsarsuaq.[5]
Population
The population of the settlement is strictly tied to the traffic dynamics at the local airport.[2]
Climate
Narsarsuaq experiences boundary subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc), which barely escapes being classified as polar climate, which is typical for the rest of Greenland. Narsarsuaq is fairly wet, with Atlantic storms pounding the town all year.
| Climate data for Narsarsuaq, Greenland | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
3.7 (38.7) |
8.9 (48) |
12.4 (54.3) |
14.3 (57.7) |
13.2 (55.8) |
9.0 (48.2) |
3.8 (38.8) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
4.82 (40.67) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −6.8 (19.8) |
−6.1 (21) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
5.2 (41.4) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.3 (50.5) |
9.3 (48.7) |
5.5 (41.9) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−6.1 (21) |
0.97 (33.72) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −11.1 (12) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
1.4 (34.5) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.4 (43.5) |
5.5 (41.9) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
−2.97 (26.66) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 38 (1.5) |
33 (1.3) |
37 (1.46) |
42 (1.65) |
37 (1.46) |
52 (2.05) |
65 (2.56) |
70 (2.76) |
68 (2.68) |
51 (2.01) |
60 (2.36) |
61 (2.4) |
615 (24.21) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 85 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 26 | 65 | 137 | 168 | 177 | 182 | 192 | 156 | 136 | 94 | 44 | 18 | 1,395 |
| Source: Danmarsk Meteorologiske Institut (period of record 1961-1990; 1980-1999 for sunshine hours) [6] | |||||||||||||
Arboretum Groenlandicum
On the lower slopes of the Mellemlandet ridge, in close proximity to Narsarsuaq Airport, there is a unique 'botanical garden of the Arctic', called Arboretum Groenlandicum.[7] The goal is to establish a live collection of trees and bushes heralding from both the arctic and the alpine tree-lines of the entire Northern Hemisphere.
Founded in 1988, it encompasses 15 hectares and sheltering 110 plant species, mostly varieties of boreal taiga trees, such as Siberian larch, Lodgepole Pine, White Spruce, or Sitka Spruce,[8] and various bushes. Many individual trees are tagged or otherwise marked. The plantation currently has more than 50,000 trees of various provenances.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Narsarsuaq. |
- ↑ Kujalleq Municipality (Danish)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Statistics Greenland" (in Danish). Statistics Greenland. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ↑ Dale McKenzie Brown. "The Fate of Greenland's Vikings". The Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ↑ Dan Ford. "Remembering Bluie West One". WarbirdForum.com. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ↑ Road distance
- ↑ Danish Meteorological Institute "Climate normals for Greenland". Danmarsk Meteorologiske Institut. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Københavns Universitiet". University of Copenhagen. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ↑ Arboretum Groenlandicum documentation, Narsarsuaq
