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24-415: Søndre Strømfjord is an old Danish name for: Kangerlussuaq , a settlement in western Greenland Kangerlussuaq Fjord , a fjord in western Greenland See also [ edit ] Kangerlussuaq (disambiguation) Sondrestrom (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

48-474: A 1.1 °C (1.98 °F) margin escapes being classified as polar climate that is typical for the rest of Greenland. Despite its rather chilly temperatures, Narsarsuaq is one of the few places in Greenland with abundant naturally growing trees. This is due to several factors. Its geographical position is extremely sheltered from harsh subpolar winds by multiple layers of tall mountains to the west, and there

72-600: A key crossing of the Watson River. The population of Kangerlussuaq dropped significantly after the liquidation of the Sondrestrom Air Base. Since then it has increased by more than 80%, although it has begun dropping again in recent years. As the only civilian airport in Greenland large enough to support large long-range airplanes such as Boeing 747s , Kangerlussuaq Airport is Greenland's most important transport hub. Hotel Kangerlussuaq operates at

96-412: Is a heavy oceanic influence that results in a rather stable and steady amount of precipitation year-round. The oceanic influence can be observed in the occasional Atlantic storms that often pound the region (resulting in a fairly wet climate) and a moderate amount of precipitation per year (which could also be considered quite high by Greenlandic standards). Due to the fair climatic conditions, Narsarsuaq

120-467: Is a major tourist attraction from the town, as is the edge of the ice sheet in the Isunngua highlands to its northeast. Highlands such as Tarajornitsut bound Kangerlussuaq from the north and south. To the southeast behind lake Tasersuatsiaq , which provides fresh water to the town, is the vast highland of Ammalortup Nunaa, the original region artificially populated with 27 muskoxen . The town

144-654: 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. Narsarsuaq is located within the Eastern Settlement of the Greenlandic Norse ; the Brattahlíð farm of Erik the Red established in 985 was located on the opposite bank of Tunulliarfik Fjord , where the modern settlement of Qassiarsuk

168-447: Is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen , caribou , and gyrfalcons . The settlement's economy and population of 508 is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry. It is the only town in Greenland which is not located on the proper ocean, being situated at the end of a 160 km long fjord, although it still has a coastline on the ocean. Kangerlussuaq occupies an alluvial flatland on

192-466: Is maintained between Qassiarsuk and Narsarsuaq around the fjord. It has two river crossings without bridges but off-road vehicles ford them, although boat is also used. There is also a regular boat service to Qaqortoq , 85 kilometres (53 mi; 46 nmi), almost hours. The population of the settlement is strictly tied to the traffic dynamics at the local airport. Narsarsuaq experiences boundary subarctic climate ( Köppen : Dfc ), which with

216-766: Is situated about 50 kilometers (31 mi) north of the Arctic Circle , and is the starting point for the Arctic Circle Trail . Kangerlussuaq was founded at the east end of Kangerlussuaq fjord as Bluie West-8 on 7 October 1941, under the supervision of Colonel Bernt Balchen of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Following the fall of Denmark to Germany in World War II , US forces assumed security for Greenland, building several bases including Bluie West-1 to

240-644: Is situated. In 1941 the United States built an air base at Narsarsuaq code-named Bluie West One (BW1). ( Bluie was the Allied military code name for Greenland.) Thousands of planes used BW1 as a stepping stone on their way from the aircraft factories in North America to the battlegrounds of Europe. A 600-bed hospital was built in order to deal with casualties from the Normandy landings . After

264-623: The Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility was situated at about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Kangerlussuaq. It was commonly known around the town as Kellyville . It was operated by SRI International for the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Danish Meteorological Institute . The facility was host to more than 20 instruments, the majority of which provide unique and complementary information about

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288-489: The arctic upper atmosphere. The centerpiece instrument of the facility was an L band incoherent scatter (IS) radar with a 32-metre (105 ft) fully steerable antenna. It was transported from Alaska to Kangerlussuaq in 1983. Narsarsuaq Narsarsuaq (lit. Great Plain ; old spelling: Narssarssuaq ) is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland . It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There

312-676: The Atlantic sometimes replicate the North Atlantic Ferry Route, stopping at Narsarsuaq Airport and other World War II airfields, including Goose Bay, Newfoundland in Canada and Reykjavík in Iceland. Narsarsuaq has a sea port where passenger boats and cruise ships can moor. It is located 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) south of the terminal building, so bus transfers are arranged. A 26 kilometres (16 mi) gravel road

336-534: The airport. Kangerlussuaq Fjord is navigable in its entire length. There is a seaport at Kangerlussuaq, 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Kangerlussuaq Airport. It is fairly shallow and suitable for small ships only, mainly used by supply ships of the Royal Arctic Line , and unusable in winter. Cruise ships, such as Norway's Hurtigruten , navigate the fjord, anchoring outside the port. They go to Kangerlussuaq mainly to exchange passengers by air, because

360-548: The end of the war, BW1 continued to be developed, and was a major hospital site during the Korean War , with the military hospital expanded to 1,000 beds. However, 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 United States would jointly oversee the airbase. Although it closed in 1958, it

384-670: The fall of the Soviet Union , the usefulness of the base was greatly diminished and the last U.S. Air Force personnel left the base on 30 September 1992. The base subsequently came under Greenlandic Home Rule and was renamed using the Kalaallisut dialect of the West Greenland Inuit . This site and Bluie West-1 in Narsarsuaq remain Greenland's best-equipped airports. Almost all of the permanent structures in

408-661: The far end of the 190 km long Kangerlussuaq Fjord , straddling both sides of the Qinnguata Kuussua river estuary . On the East of Kangerlussuaq is a confluence of the two major regional rivers, the Qinnguata Kuussua and Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua . The valley of the latter forms large quicksand plains. Both rivers originate from the Russell Glacier . The edge of the glacier is easily accessible and

432-424: The fly time, and there are also considerations to move the main hub of Air Greenland to Nuuk Airport , closing Kangerlussuaq airport. A road to Sisimiut with a low quality, aimed to off-road vehicles was built 2020-2021, at a cost of 25 million DKK . There are hopes that the road will be rebuilt to a proper paved road in future. From 1982 to 2018, an ionospheric and atmospheric research facility known as

456-408: The ice sheet, initially serving as venue for car endurance experiments. Since then it has been mainly used for tourist purposes. There are plans to construct a road to Sisimiut (170 km (110 mi)) as of 2017. The cost estimates have been between 250 and 500 million Danish kroner (DKK), depending on road quality, and therefore the plans are delayed. The drive time would be much longer than

480-687: The south in Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at the Kangerlussuaq fjord. The base briefly came under Danish control in 1950, but following mounting concerns about the Cold War threat, a new agreement saw the United States reopen Bluie West-8 under the name of Sondrestrom Air Base on 27 April 1951. It served as one of the Distant Early Warning Line bases and a supply station for similar early warning facilities. Following

504-488: The title Søndre Strømfjord . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Søndre_Strømfjord&oldid=605531122 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Kangerlussuaq The Kangerlussuaq area

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528-531: The town were built during the American occupation of the site. The climate in Kangerlussuaq is subarctic ( Köppen Dfc ), bordering on tundra climate ( Köppen ET ) and unusually for somewhere this far north (in the Arctic Circle), a cold-semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk ), with the area receiving very little rainfall. In July 2012 a gust of warm air resulted in glacier meltwater which wiped out

552-407: The travel time to and from Greenland is too long for many passengers. Plans were approved in 2018 to build a new deep port, around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the present one, together with a road to it. Kangerlussuaq has the largest road network outside any settlement in Greenland (not counting streets inside the settlement). A gravel road through Isunngua connects Kangerlussuaq with

576-557: Was reopened the following year by the Danish government after the loss of the vessel Hans Hedtoft and all crew south off Cape Farewell . The hospital was destroyed by a fire in 1972, although the ruins remain. Narsarsuaq Airport serves as the principal airfield in southwestern Greenland, with seasonal international flights from Iceland operated by Icelandair . It has also commuter helicopter flights from communities of southern Greenland operated by Air Greenland. Small planes crossing

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