Misplaced Pages

#187812

30-618: Despite its name, the Eastern Settlement was more south than east of its companion and, like the Western Settlement, was located on the southwestern tip of Greenland at the head of long fjords such as Tunulliarfik Fjord or Eiriksfjord, Igaliku or Einarsfjord, and Sermilik Fjord . Approximately 500 groups of ruins of Norse farms are found in the area, with 16 church ruins, including Brattahlíð , Dyrnæs , Garðar , Hvalsey and Herjolfsnes . The Vatnahverfi district to

60-737: A line from Cape St. Francis 47°45′N 52°27′W  /  47.750°N 52.450°W  / 47.750; -52.450  ( Cape St. Francis ) ( Newfoundland ) to Cape Farewell (Greenland). On the West: the East Coast of Labrador and Newfoundland and the Northeast limit of the Gulf of St. Lawrence – a line running from Cape Bauld (North point of Kirpon Island , 51°40′N 55°25′W  /  51.667°N 55.417°W  / 51.667; -55.417  ( Cape Bauld ) ) to

90-466: A relatively low salinity (34.84–34.89 parts per thousand), low temperature (3.3–3.4 °C (37.9–38.1 °F)) and high oxygen content compared to the layers above and below it. LSW also has a relatively low vorticity, i.e. the tendency to form vortices, than any other water in North Atlantic that reflects its high homogeneity. It has a potential density of 27.76–27.78 mg/cm relatively to

120-537: A river flowing from the glacial outflow lake in Johan Dahl Land . At approximately 61°04′00″N 45°26′30″W  /  61.06667°N 45.44167°W  / 61.06667; -45.44167 , south of the Narsarsuaq settlement, the fjord is joined by its tributary Qooroq Fjord from the northeast, changing direction from southern into southwestern. Bounded by long peninsulas and low-lying islands from

150-688: A significant part of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) — a cold water mass that flows at great depth along the western edge of the North Atlantic, spreading out to form the largest identifiable water mass in the World Ocean . The NADW consists of three parts of different origin and salinity, and the top one, the Labrador Sea Water (LSW), is formed in the Labrador Sea. This part occurs at a medium depth and has

180-675: A straight line from a headland on Killiniq Island abutting Lady Job Harbour to Cape Farewell. The Labrador Sea is about 3,400 m (1,859 fathoms ; 11,155 feet ) deep and 1,000 km (621 miles ; 540 nautical miles ) wide where it joins the Atlantic Ocean. It becomes shallower, to less than 700 m (383 fathoms; 2,297 ft) towards Baffin Bay (see depth map ) and passes into the 300 km (190 mi; 160 nmi) wide Davis Strait . A 100–200 m (55–109 fathoms; 330–660 ft) deep turbidity current channel system, which

210-486: A wide lowland with arable ground. There are no settlements in the lower reaches of the fjord. Narsaq is a port of call for the Arctic Umiaq Line coastal ship in the summer season. The southbound ferry route backtracks from Qaqortoq until the mouth of Tunulliarfik, to then sail northeast alongside the lower part of the fjord, anchoring at Narsaq port before turning around the same day. Narsaq Heliport and

240-509: Is a fjord near Qaqortoq in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland . It is the inner section of Skovfjord (Skovfjorden). In times of the Norse settlement in southern Greenland, it was known as Eiriksfjord . The fjord head at approximately 61°14′40″N 45°30′35″W  /  61.24444°N 45.50972°W  / 61.24444; -45.50972 is formed by the estuary of

270-622: Is about 2–5 km (1.2–3.1 mi; 1.1–2.7 nmi) wide and 3,800 km (2,400 mi; 2,100 nmi) long, runs on the bottom of the sea, near its center from the Hudson Strait into the Atlantic. It is called the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOC) and is one of the world's longest drainage systems of Pleistocene age. It appears as a submarine river bed with numerous tributaries and

300-857: Is an anticlockwise water circulation in the sea. It is initiated by the East Greenland Current and continued by the West Greenland Current , which brings warmer, more saline waters northwards, along the Greenland coasts up to the Baffin Bay. Then, the Baffin Island Current and Labrador Current transport cold and less saline water southward along the Canadian coast. These currents carry numerous icebergs and therefore hinder navigation and exploration of

330-413: Is maintained by high-density turbidity currents flowing within the levees . The water temperature varies between −1 °C (30 °F) in winter and 5–6 °C (41–43 °F) in summer. The salinity is relatively low, at 31–34.9 parts per thousand. Two-thirds of the sea is covered in ice in winter. Tides are semi-diurnal (i.e. occur twice a day), reaching 4 m (2.2 fathoms; 13 ft). There

SECTION 10

#1732765070188

360-894: Is no sign of a conflagration. Other explanations have also been offered, including soil erosion due to overgrazing and the effects of the Black Death . Major parts of the Eastern Settlement, including Brattahlíð , the homestead of Erik the Red , were included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 as Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap . 61°00′N 45°25′W  /  61.000°N 45.417°W  / 61.000; -45.417 Tunulliarfik Fjord Tunulliarfik Fjord (old spelling: Tunugdliarfik ; Danish : Eriksfjord )

390-626: The Labrador Peninsula and Greenland . The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait . It is a marginal sea of the Atlantic. The sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago and stopped about 40 million years ago. It contains one of

420-623: The North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago ( Paleocene ) and stopped about 40 million years ago. A sedimentary basin , which is now buried under the continental shelves, formed during the Cretaceous . Onset of magmatic sea-floor spreading was accompanied by volcanic eruptions of picrites and basalts in the Paleocene at the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay. Between about 500 BC and 1300 AD,

450-456: The cod fishing had already depleted the fishes' population near the Labrador and West Greenland banks, and was therefore halted in 1992. Other fishery targets include haddock , Atlantic herring , lobster , several species of flatfish , and pelagic fish , such as sand lance and capelin . They are most abundant in the southern parts of the sea. The Labrador duck was a common bird on

480-779: The Canadian coast until the 19th century, but is now extinct. Other coastal animals include the Labrador wolf ( Canis lupus labradorius ), woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ), moose ( Alces alces ), black bear ( Ursus americanus ), Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ), red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), Arctic fox ( Alopex lagopus ), wolverine ( G. gulo ), American mink ( Neogale vison ), North American river otter ( Lontra canadensis ), snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus ), grouse ( Dendragapus spp.), osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ), raven ( Corvus corax ), ducks , geese , swans , partridge and pheasant . Occasionally, coastal polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) sightings occur along

510-527: The East extreme of Belle Isle and on to the Northeast Ledge ( 52°02′N 55°15′W  /  52.033°N 55.250°W  / 52.033; -55.250  ( Belle Isle ) ). Thence a line joining this ledge with the East extreme of Cape St. Charles (52°13'N) in Labrador. Natural Resources Canada uses a slightly different definition, putting the northern boundary of the Labrador Sea on

540-658: The Norse settlements has found that fishing played an increasing role towards the end of the settlement's life. While the diet of the first settlers consisted of 80% agricultural products and 20% marine food, from the 14th century the Greenland Norsemen had 50–80% of their diet from the sea. In the Greenlandic Inuit oral tradition , there is a legend about why the Norse population of Hvalsey died out and why their houses and churches are in ruins. According to

570-482: The gas fields beneath the sea bed. The speed of the Labrador current is typically 0.3–0.5 m/s (0.98–1.64 ft/s), but can reach 1 m/s (3.3 ft/s) in some areas, whereas the Baffin Current is somewhat slower at about 0.2 m/s (0.66 ft/s). The Labrador Current maintains the water temperature at 0 °C (32 °F) and salinity between 30 and 34 parts per thousand. The sea provides

600-473: The international Narsarsuaq Airport operate year-round, with STOL connections to Nuuk , Kangerlussuaq , and Paamiut , and helicopter connections to Alluitsup Paa , Nanortalik , and Qaqortoq. Igaliku and Qassiarsuk can be reached by boat. Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea ( French : mer du Labrador ; Danish : Labradorhavet ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between

630-570: The legend, the reason was a blood feud between local Norse chieftain Ungortoq and a young but determined Inuit warrior named K'aissape. In revenge for Ungortoq's slaying of his younger brother, Inuit warriors under K'aissape approached Hvalsey by sea while disguised as an iceberg and then burned down the Norse settlers inside their houses, but Ungortoq escaped with his family. K'aissape finally hunted down and slew Ungortoq and his whole family near Cape Farewell . According to archaeological studies, there

SECTION 20

#1732765070188

660-423: The north. There are several small settlements near the shores of the long Tunulliarfik Fjord. Narsarsuaq and Qassiarsuk are located on the opposite sides of the fjord near its head. Further south, the settlement of Igaliku occupies the isthmus of a peninsula bounding the fjord from the south. At the far end of Narsaq Peninsula bounding the upper reaches of the fjord from the north the town of Narsaq occupies

690-409: The sea by the large shoals of fish, as well as the many marine mammal species they may hunt (including other cetaceans and pinnipeds), such as harbour porpoise and Atlantic white-sided , common , striped and white-beaked dolphins . The sea is also a feeding-ground for Atlantic salmon . Shrimp fisheries began in 1978, intensifying by 2000, in addition to cod fishing. However, by the 1990s ,

720-499: The sea, mainly further north but sometimes as far south as Conception Bay and the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Coastal vegetation includes black spruce ( Picea mariana ), tamarack , white spruce ( P. glauca ), dwarf birch ( Betula spp.), aspen , willow ( Salix spp.), ericaceous shrubs ( Ericaceae ), cottongrass ( Eriophorum spp.), sedge ( Carex spp.), lichens and moss. Evergreen bushes of Labrador tea , which

750-531: The southeast and the northwest, it has its mouth in the Skovfjord which empties in Labrador Sea at approximately 60°41′N 46°44′W  /  60.683°N 46.733°W  / 60.683; -46.733 . The Narsaq Sound, between the peninsula forming the northern shore of Tunulliarfik Fjord and Tuttutooq and Illutaliq islands, connects with neighbouring Bredefjord and Nordre Sermilik to

780-504: The southeast of Einarsfjord had some of the best pastoral land in the colony, and boasted 10% of all the known farm sites in the Eastern Settlement. The economy of the medieval Norse settlements was based on livestock farming – mainly sheep and cattle, with some seal hunting. A Little Ice Age in the 14th century may have increased the demand for winter fodder and at the same time decreased productivity of hay meadows . Isotope analysis of bones excavated at archaeological investigations in

810-554: The southern coast of the sea contained Dorset , Beothuk , and Inuit settlements; Dorset tribes were later replaced by Thule people . Download coordinates as: The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Labrador Sea as follows: On the North: the South limit of Davis Strait [The parallel of 60° North between Greenland and Labrador ]. On the East:

840-636: The surface layers, meaning it is denser, and thus sinks under the surface and remains homogeneous and unaffected by the surface fluctuations. The northern and western parts of the Labrador Sea are covered in ice between December and June. This drift ice serves as a breeding ground for several types of pinnipeds (including Atlantic walrus and bearded , grey , harbor , harp , hooded and ringed seals ). Several cetacean species feed in these abundant waters in early spring, including blue , fin , humpback , long-finned pilot , minke , North Atlantic right , sei and sperm whales . The sea contains one of

870-705: The two primary populations of sei whales, the other being the Scotian Shelf . Pods of beluga (white) whales are more common further to the north, west and south (notably in Baffin Bay , where their population reaches around 20,000 animals), and further afield in Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . While somewhat rarer in the Labrador Sea—especially since the 1950s— some sightings still take place. Additionally, pods of orca are drawn to

900-402: The world's largest turbidity current channel systems, the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOC), that runs for thousands of kilometers along the sea bottom toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Labrador Sea is a major source of the North Atlantic Deep Water , a cold water mass that flows at great depth along the western edge of the North Atlantic. The Labrador Sea formed upon separation of

#187812