Paamiut , formerly Frederikshåb , is a town in southwestern Greenland in the Sermersooq municipality .
34-534: Paamiut is located on the coast of Labrador Sea in the southern end of a small estuary called Kuannersooq ("Inlet"). People have lived in the Paamiut area since around 1500 BC . The name Paamiut is Kalaallisut for "Those who Reside by the Mouth (of the fiord)". The trading post of Frederikshaab (sometimes anglicized as Frederick's Hope ) was established by Jacob Severin 's company in 1742 and named in honor of
68-409: 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 the two primary populations of sei whales,
102-631: 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 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
136-542: 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 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
170-407: Is 2.2 °C (36.0 °F), while the average annual low temperature is −4.0 °C (24.8 °F). July has the highest average high at 8.8 °C (47.8 °F) and the highest average low at 2.8 °C (37.0 °F). January has the lowest average high at −3.4 °C (25.9 °F). February has the lowest average low at −10.2 °C (13.6 °F). The highest temperature recorded in Paamiut
204-551: Is 21.2 °C (70.2 °F) in July, and the lowest is −29.6 °C (−21.3 °F) in February. Paamiut receives 878 millimetres (34.6 in) of precipitation over 119.9 precipitation days and 87.1 snowy days. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. August, the wettest month, receives 92 millimetres (3.6 in) of rainfall over 10 precipitation days, although other months have more precipitation days. January has
238-719: 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 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
272-498: 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 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
306-529: Is a port of call for the Arctic Umiaq ferry service. In November 2007, the Paamiut Airport was built by Mittarfeqarfiit . Connections to Nuuk and Narsarsuaq are served by Air Greenland STOL aircraft. Like other coastal areas of Greenland, Paamiut has a typical tundra climate ( Köppen climate classification ET ), with cold winters and cool summers. The average annual high temperature
340-556: 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 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
374-807: Is used to make herbal teas , are common in the area, both on the Greenland and Canadian coasts. Davis Strait The Davis Strait is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea . It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut , Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay . The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis (1550–1605), who explored
SECTION 10
#1732784035698408-616: 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, 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
442-633: The Ungava Fault Zone during Paleogene times about 45 million to 62 million years ago. The strike-slip faulting transferred plate-tectonic motions in the Labrador Sea to Baffin Bay. It is the world's broadest strait. With a water depth of between one and two thousand meters the strait is substantially shallower than the Labrador Sea to the south. The strait is famous for its fierce tides that can range from 30 to 60 ft (9.1 to 18.3 m), which discouraged many earlier explorers. US Geological Survey has estimated that at least 13% of
476-400: 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
510-437: 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 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
544-467: 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 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
578-835: 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
612-547: The Crown Prince Frederick (later King Frederick V of Denmark ). The community prospered on trading fur and whale products. It also became known for its soapstone artists. The town has one of the finest churches in Greenland, built in 1909 from wood in the Norwegian style. Following the warming climatic trends since the 1920s, Paamiut developed a booming cod industry between the 1950s and 1989, when
646-725: 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 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
680-583: 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 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
714-657: The West. The Eastern limit of the Northwestern Passages South of 70° North [the East coast of Baffin Island to East Bluff, its Southeastern extremity] and of Hudson Strait [A line from East Bluff, the Southeast extreme of Baffin Island ( 61°53′N 65°57′W / 61.883°N 65.950°W / 61.883; -65.950 ), to Point Meridian, the Western extreme of Lower Savage Islands , along
SECTION 20
#1732784035698748-605: The area while seeking a Northwest Passage . By the 1650s it was used for whale hunting . The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Davis Strait as follows: On the North. The Southern limit of Baffin Bay [The parallel of 70° North between Greenland and Baffin Land ]. On the East. The Southwest coast of Greenland. On the South. The parallel of 60° North between Greenland and Labrador . On
782-405: The autumn, bringing numerous seals marking this season as a great time for the local hunters. With 1,308 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the tenth-largest town in Greenland, down from the seventh in 2005. Paamiut has been losing population for almost every year in the last two decades: more than 31% relative to 1990 levels, almost 20% relative to 2000, and more than 16% relative to 2005. Paamiut
816-556: 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 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
850-470: The coast to its Southwestern extreme and thence a line across to the Western extreme of Resolution Island , through its Southwestern shore to Hatton Headland, its Southern point, thence a line to Cape Chidley , Labrador ( 60°24′N 64°26′W / 60.400°N 64.433°W / 60.400; -64.433 )]. The Davis Strait is underlain by complex geological features of buried grabens (basins) and ridges , formed by strike-slip faulting of
884-568: 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 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
918-553: 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: 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:
952-598: The most snowy days with 12.7 snowy days. Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea ( French : mer du Labrador ; Danish : Labradorhavet ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between 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
986-662: 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
1020-409: 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 ,
1054-499: 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
Paamiut - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-438: The stock dwindled. In connection with a development plan called G60, Paamiut was chosen as to be the place to live for the entire population of the former Paamiut municipality. Therefore, the number of people living there rose significantly during that period. There is local museum downtown in original buildings from the previous century, among them a carpenter workshop and a salt warehouse. The Danish Crown Princely family visited
1122-422: The town as part of an official tour of Greenland in summer 2014. As is the case for other towns of western Greenland, the sea is free of ice during the winter, while fishing is the primary occupation of the inhabitants of the region. Icebergs , coming adrift along the east coast of Greenland with the East Greenland Current and continuing up along the west coast with the West Greenland Current normally arrive in
1156-548: The world's undiscovered oil deposits and 30% of the world's undiscovered gas pockets are located in the Arctic, with the seas around Greenland potentially holding large amounts of natural gas and lesser amounts of crude oil and natural gas liquids . This has led Greenland's minister and provincial council to offer a large number of off-shore concessions to potential hydrocarbon (oil and gas) extraction. The largest concessions areas are located in seas west of Greenland, primarily
#697302