Uummannaq[The pre-1973 spelling was Umanaq, Ũmánaq, or Umanak.] is a town on Uummannaq Island in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020,[[1] ] as Omenak,[Colton, G.W. " Northern America. British, Russian & Danish Possessions In North America." J.H. Colton & Co. (New York), 1855.] the town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry.[[3] ] In 1932, the Universal Greenland-Filmexpedition with director Arnold Fanck released the film S.O.S. Eisberg near Uummannaq.[ – About filming in Greenland. Lobbycards, photos, etc. of Walter Rimls estate]
Geography
Uummannaq is located 590 kilometres north of the
Arctic Circle on
Uummannaq Island, located in the south-central arm of the
Uummannaq Fjord.
Uummannaq is also the general name given to the series of inlets north of the promontory at
Niaqornat on the Nuussuaq Peninsula.
The island is also home to Uummannaq Mountain, rising very sharply to the height of 1170 m. Climbing it requires technical skills.
Transport
Air Greenland operates helicopter services to
Qaarsut Airport from Uummannaq Heliport. The neighbouring villages in the Uummannaq area are served by district cargo helicopters. In summer months, Royal Arctic Line operates its 'bygdeservice' with sailings by small ships to its neighbouring villages, including a service to Qaarsut.
Culture
Denmark and Greenlandic children are told that
Santa Claus lives in Spraglebugten Bay in the west of the island. A turf hut (
Santa's Castle) was built there for a Danish television programme and remains Santa's home in the popular imagination.
Scottish singer KT Tunstall's third album Tiger Suit features the track "Uummannaq Song", which was inspired by her trip to the town in September 2008 with Cape Farewell.
Uummannaq is home to Uummannaq Music – the world's northernmost music platform on sea ice.[[4] ][[5] ][[6] ]
Climate
Uummannaq experiences a
tundra climate ( ET); with short, quite cool summers and long, frigid winters.
Due to the town's position within the large
Uummannaq Fjord, the settlement is sheltered from the coastal winds by the high, glaciated mountains of the Nuussuaq Peninsula. Consequently, occasional strong
foehn winds from the southeast can occur, raising the
temperature above
melting point even in
winter.
Moreover, this causes the area to be considered as the sunniest spot in
Greenland.
Climate data was collated from 2000 to 2020 at the nearby
Qaarsut Airport, northwest of the town.
Population
Uummannaq is the second-largest town in the Avannaata municipality. It had 1,407 inhabitants in 2020,
which was a decrease of more than 12% relative to the population in 2000.
Notable people
-
Ole Jørgen Hammeken, polar explorer
-
Siissisoq, a Greenlandic rock band
-
Nukaaka Coster-Waldau, actress, singer, former Miss Greenland and wife of Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
-
Aleqa Hammond, former prime minister of Greenland, and first female prime minister, grew up in Uummannaq
-
Pipaluk Freuchen, children's writer
External links
