Kullorsuaq Island

Kullorsuaq

Kullorsuaq Island
Kullorsuaq Island (Greenland)
Geography
Location	Greenland
Coordinates	74°36′N 57°08′W / 74.600°N 57.133°WCoordinates: 74°36′N 57°08′W / 74.600°N 57.133°W
Archipelago	Upernavik Archipelago
Country
Greenland
Municipality	Qaasuitsup

Kullorsuaq Island (old spelling: Kuvdlorssuaq) is an island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. The name of the island means "a big thumb" in the Greenlandic language.

Geography

Part of the Upernavik Archipelago, Kullorsuaq Island is located in the southern part of Melville Bay, to the north of the much larger Kiatassuaq Island, and to the northwest of the mouth of Saqqarlersuup Sullua strait. A small Ikerasaa strait separates the island from the uninhabited Saqqarlersuaq Island in the east.^[1]

Devil's Thumb

The island is rocky throughout, with a large landmark pinnacle occupying its center, the 546 m (1,791 ft) Devil's Thumb, from which the island derives its name.^[1]

Settlement

Neighboring Saqqarlersuaq Island seen from the Kullorsuaq settlement.

Home to the Kullorsuaq settlement, the island is one of the few inhabited islands in the Upernavik Archipelago, and the only such island in its northern part. The closest settlements are Nuussuaq, 53 km (33 mi) to the south, and Savissivik, 274 km (170 mi) to the northwest, on the other end of Melville Bay.

Aerial view of Kullorsuaq Island with the prominent Devil's Thumb pinnacle in the center.

References

1. Upernavik Avannarleq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992