Ittoqqortoormiit ( East Greenlandic : [itːɔqːɔtːɔːmːiːt] ; West Greenlandic : Illoqqortoormiut [iɬːɔqːɔtːɔːmːiut] ), formerly known as Scoresbysund , is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in eastern Greenland . Its population was 345 as of 2020, and it has been described as one of the most remote settlements on Earth.
31-544: The former name Scoresbysund derives from the English Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby , who was the first European to map the area in 1822. The name "Ittoqqortoormiit" means "Big-House Dwellers" in the Eastern Greenlandic dialect. The region is known for its wildlife, including polar bears , muskoxen , and seals. Ittoqqortoormiit is located on Liverpool Land , east of Hurry Inlet near
62-528: A combination of exceptionally warm airmass and a strong foehn effect. This is only 5.1 degrees different from their all-time record high and surpasses the record high of September, the fourth-warmest month. The population of Ittoqqortoormiit has fluctuated over the past three decades, decreasing about 35% since 2006. Ittoqqortoormiit population dynamics. 1991–2020. Source: Statistics Greenland William Scoresby William Scoresby FRS FRSE (5 October 1789 – 21 March 1857)
93-409: A direct part in the economy of the hunting families. Income is gained by trading these products, but these options are seasonal and variable. Ittoqqortoormiit lies near large populations of shrimp and Greenland halibut , but the presence of sea ice prevents the exploitation of these resources year-round, and as a result fishing has never been extensively developed in the municipality. Tourism, on
124-419: A few months a year. Norlandair operates two weekly flights from Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport to Nerlerit Inaat. As of 2022, Air Greenland no longer had weekly flights from Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk . Local hunters have made a living from whale and polar bear hunting for generations, and it remains, up to the present, a significant cultural-economical factor in the area. Meat and by-products play
155-737: A villa at Torquay , where he was appointed honorary lecturer at the Parish church of St Mary Magdalene, Upton. He died in Torquay on 21 March 1857. He is buried in the churchyard at Upton and commemorated by a memorial which is decorated with mariner's compass and dividers, and a Bible. He is also memorialised on the family grave in Whitby . His sister Arabella Scoresby was mother to the physician Robert Edmund Scoresby-Jackson FRSE . A number of places have been named after him, including: Herman Melville 's main character Ishmael quotes Scoresby in
186-519: Is named in H. P. Lovecraft 's science fiction-horror novella , At the Mountains of Madness , as having observed and drawn "some of the wilder forms" of arctic mirages. Uunarteq Uunarteq , formerly Kap Tobin and Unarteg , is an abandoned settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in eastern Greenland , located 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Ittoqqortoormiit . The settlement
217-527: The Cetology chapter of Moby-Dick : "'No branch of Zoology is so much involved as that which is entitled Cetology,' says Captain Scoresby, A.D. 1820." Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials trilogy features a character named Lee Scoresby , an intrepid explorer, old Arctic hand, and balloon aeronaut. Pullman has stated that the character was named after William Scoresby and Lee Van Cleef . Scoresby
248-656: The Esk on his fifteenth whaling voyage from Whitby, Scoresby encountered grave problems when ice damaged his ship. With the aid of his brother-in-law's crew on board the John , and after agreeing to surrendering much of their catch, the Esk was repaired, of which Scoresby recounted in his 1820 book The Northern Whale-Fishery . In 1819, Scoresby was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . His proposers were Robert Jameson , John Playfair and Sir G S Mackenzie. About
279-546: The colonization was intended to improve declining living conditions in Tasiilaq, from where the settlers were more or less voluntarily transferred. The settlers soon prospered on the good hunting conditions of the new area, which was rich in seals , walruses , narwhals , polar bears and Arctic foxes . Before that, the area itself had been home to a dense population of Inuit in the past, as testified by ruins and other archeological remains. Ittoqqortoormiit Municipality
310-400: The 10 °C (50 °F) threshold that would allow tree growth. This coupled with an average annual temperature of −5.0 °C (23.0 °F) makes Ittoqqortoormiit one of the coldest permanently inhabited locations on Earth. In the afternoon of 22 February 2005, the time of year that is normally the coldest, the temperature in the village briefly reached +15.9 °C (60.6 °F) due to
341-750: The Eastern Coast of Greenland (1823), appeared at Edinburgh. In 1824, the Royal Society elected him a fellow, and in 1827, he became an honorary corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences . From the first, Scoresby worked as an active member and official of the British Association for the Advancement of Science , and he contributed especially to the knowledge of terrestrial magnetism . Of his sixty papers in
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#1732798092705372-435: The Royal Society list, many relate to this department of research. However, his observations extended into many other departments, including researches on optics and, with James Joule , comparing electromagnetic (chemical), thermal (coal/steam), and organic (horse) power sources. To obtain additional data for his theories on magnetism, he made a voyage to Australia in 1856 on board the ill-fated iron-hulled Royal Charter ,
403-532: The east coast, between 69° 30' and 72° 30', thus contributing to the first real and important geographic knowledge of East Greenland. This, however, proved to be the last of his Arctic voyages. On his return, he learnt of his wife's death, and this event, with other influences acting upon his naturally pious spirit, decided him to enter the church. Scoresby's Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale Fishery, including Researches and Discoveries on
434-525: The first time the fact that the polar ocean has a warmer temperature at considerable depths than it has on the surface, and each subsequent voyage in search of whales found him no less eager of fresh additions to scientific knowledge. His letters of this period to Sir Joseph Banks , whose acquaintance he had made a few years earlier, no doubt gave the first impulse to the search for the North-West Passage which followed. On 29 June 1816, commanding
465-708: The hands of the Simeon Trust , since Charles Simeon 's death in 1836. His predecessor Henry Heap (died 1839), had let the administration slide. There were 13 Bradford curates, counting incumbent perpetual curates , who included Patrick Brontë and William Morgan (1782–1858) . There were new churches, such as St James's built by John Wood , and one at Wibsey under construction by the Hardy family, ironmasters. Scoresby addressed matters in hand, but succeeded only in generating contentious issues. On finance, he took on Wood in 1840, over surplice fees in his new church, and
496-642: The improvement of the condition of factory operatives. In 1850, Scoresby published a work urging the prosecution of the search for the Franklin expedition and giving the results of his own experience in Arctic navigation. Scoresby began divinity studies at Queens' College, Cambridge , enrolling under the ten-year divinity statute and thus becoming a ten-year man , and also became the curate of Bessingby , Yorkshire. In 1834 he received his bachelor's degree in divinity (BD) from Cambridge University, and in 1839,
527-648: The mouth of the northern shore of the Kangertittivaq fjord, which empties into the Greenland Sea . The time zone in Ittoqqortoormiit is UTC-02:00 , the same as most of Greenland's population. Until March 2024 it had previously been one hour ahead of most of Greenland. Ittoqqortoormiit was founded in 1925 by Ejnar Mikkelsen and some 80 Inuit settlers (70 persons from Tasiilaq and four families from western Greenland). They were brought on
558-522: The other hand, is growing in importance because it is of interest to researchers and extreme Arctic expeditions on land and by sea. Ittoqqortoormiit is the closest town in Greenland from Iceland and its ecosystem, hunting culture and remoteness are of interest to a growing number of travelers primarily from Europe. A local company, Nanu Travel, owns the only guest house in the settlement and arranges tours and expedition logistics for visitors. The Guest House
589-558: The polar regions. Earlier results included his original observations on snow and crystals; and in 1809 Robert Jameson brought certain Arctic papers of his before the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh , which at once elected him to its membership. In 1811, Scoresby's father resigned to him the command of the Resolution . In the same year he married the daughter of a Whitby shipbroker. In his voyage of 1813, he established for
620-488: The results of which appeared in a posthumous publication: Journal of a Voyage to Australia for Magnetical Research , edited by Archibald Smith (1859). He made two visits to America, in 1844 and 1848; on his return home from the latter visit he made observations on the height of Atlantic waves, the results of which were given to the British Association. He interested himself much in social questions, especially
651-724: The same time he communicated a paper to the Royal Society of London: "On the Anomaly in the Variation of the Magnetic Needle". In 1820, he published An Account of the Arctic Regions and Northern Whale Fishery , in which he gathers up the results of his own observations, as well as those of previous navigators. In 1820 and 1821 he commanded Fame on whale hunting voyages to the Greenland whale fishery. In 1821 he
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#1732798092705682-477: The ship Gustav Holm and settled 400 kilometres (249 miles) south of the last known Inuit settlement in northeastern Greenland ( Eskimonæs at Dødemandsbugten on the south coast of Clavering Ø , 27 km (17 miles) southwest of later Daneborg , 1823). The settlement was encouraged by the colonial power Denmark which at the time had a growing interest in Northeast Greenland. At the same time,
713-419: The whaler Resolution when on 25 May 1806, he succeeded in reaching 81°30' N. lat. (19° E. long), for twenty-one years the highest northern latitude attained in the eastern hemisphere. During the following winter, Scoresby attended the natural philosophy and chemistry classes at Edinburgh University , and again in 1809. In his voyage of 1807, Scoresby began the study of the meteorology and natural history of
744-486: Was a former municipality of Greenland. It is now part of Sermersooq Municipality . Starting October 30, 2023, the area was moved from East Greenland Time to West Greenland Time, one hour ahead. Ittoqqortoormiit is one of the most remote towns in Greenland. It is served by Ittoqqortoormiit Heliport , with Air Greenland helicopters shuttling passengers between the settlement and Nerlerit Inaat Airport (38 km (24 mi) distance), with boat transfer also possible for
775-600: Was accompanied on the Baffin (1820) of Liverpool to Greenland by George Manby , who wished to test a new type of harpoon for whaling , based on the same principles as his Manby mortar . Manby published his account in 1822 as Journal of a Voyage to Greenland , containing observations on the flora and fauna of the Arctic regions as well as the practice of whale hunting . In his voyage of 1822 to Greenland, Scoresby surveyed and charted with remarkable accuracy 400 miles of
806-615: Was an English whaler , Arctic explorer , scientist and clergyman. Scoresby was born in the village of Cropton near Pickering 26 miles (42 km) south-west of Whitby in Yorkshire. His father, William Scoresby (1760–1829), made a fortune in the Arctic whale fishery and was also the inventor of the barrel crow's nest . The son made his first voyage with his father at the age of eleven, but then returned to school, where he remained until 1803. After this he became his father's constant companion, and accompanied him as chief officer of
837-509: Was awarded an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Divinity (DD). Clerical duties at Bessingby, and later at Liverpool , Exeter and Bradford , co-existed with his interest in science. He published numerous works and papers of a religious character. From 1839 to 1846 Scoresby was vicar of Bradford, Yorkshire , a "large, industrial, dissenting parish", also described as an "ever-expanding, raucous, restless industrial conurbation", 15 miles (24 km) across. The appointment to Bradford had been in
868-399: Was closed. Today the remaining buildings serve as cottages for the inhabitants of nearby Ittoqqortoormiit. The last family left the settlement in 2004. The place of the outlying village has a tundra climate ( Köppen : ET ), like most coastal places in Greenland , where temperatures above zero can remain on average in the summer months, although much of the year is like a long winter. In
899-502: Was featured in the hotels.com #RemoteAF campaign in 2018 because of its status as one of the most remote hotels on earth. The buildings at the abandoned Uunarteq settlement, also known as Kap Tobin , 4.3 miles south of Ittoqqortoormiit, are used for various purposes all year by the inhabitants of Ittoqqortoormiit. Ittoqqortoormiit is twinned with: Ittoqqortoormiit features a tundra climate ( Köppen ET ) with bitterly cold winters, chilly summers and no monthly average even close to
930-420: Was founded by fishermen and their families in 1926. In 1947 a telegraph and weather station were erected; the station itself employed roughly 20 people. At its largest extent, the settlement was home for approximately 120 people, with its own grade school. The village housed a seismic station until 1960, when it was closed down. Uunarteq was abandoned as a settlement in the mid-1980s, when the local weather station
961-583: Was opposed by Wood's "factory movement" allies and others. St James's was closed for a period, and Wood moved away to the south. Scoresby believed in smaller catchment districts for churches; he clashed with Morgan over this issue. He tried unsuccessfully to divide the parish in 1843. Suffering a breakdown in health, Scoresby resigned as vicar in 1846, after a tour in the US to look at industrial conditions. He took no further permanent clerical posts. Scoresby married three times. After his third marriage (1849), he built