Qaasuitsup

Qaasuitsup
Qaasuitsup Kommunia
Municipality

Qaasuitsup municipality

Clockwise from top left: Ukkusissat, Upernavik, Ilulissat Icefjord, Uummannaq

Coat of arms

Location of Qaasuitsup within Greenland
Coordinates (Qaasuitsup Commune): 76°00′N 57°00′W / 76.000°N 57.000°W / 76.000; -57.000Coordinates: 76°00′N 57°00′W / 76.000°N 57.000°W / 76.000; -57.000
State  Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country  Greenland
Municipality Qaasuitsup
Established 1 January 2009
Municipal center Ilulissat
Government[1]
 • Mayor Ole Dorph (Siumut)
Area[2]
 • Total 660,000 km2 (254,827 sq mi)
Population (2013)[3]
 • Total 17,498
 • Density 0.027/km2 (0.07/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-03, UTC-04
Calling code +299
ISO 3166 code GL-QA
Website qaasuitsup.gl

Qaasuitsup (Greenlandic: Qaasuitsup Kommunia, "Place of Polar Darkness") is a municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009.[4] As of January 2013 its population is 17,498.[3] The administrative center of the municipality is in Ilulissat (formerly called Jakobshavn). The municipality consists of the former municipalities of western and northern Greenland, each named after the biggest settlement:

Geography

The municipality is located in northwestern Greenland. With an area of 660,000 km2 (254,827.4 sq mi),[5] it is the largest municipality in the world by area,[6] larger than France at 643,427 km2 (248,428.6 sq mi).[7]

In the south, it is flanked by the Qeqqata municipality. In the southeast, it is bordered by the Sermersooq municipality, however this border runs north-south (45° West meridian) through the center of the Greenland ice sheet (Greenlandic: Sermersuaq), and as such is free of traffic. In the east and northeast it is bordered by the Northeast Greenland National Park.

At the southern end of the municipal coastline are the waters of Disko Bay, an inlet of the larger Baffin Bay, which to the north edges into the island of Greenland in the form of Melville Bay. The coastline of northeastern Baffin Bay is dotted with islands of the Upernavik Archipelago, entirely contained within the municipality. In the far northwest near Qaanaaq and Siorapaluk, the municipal shores extend into Nares Strait, which separates Greenland from Ellesmere Island.

Denmark claims Hans Island as part of Qaasuitsup, while Canada considers it to be part of the Nunavut region of Qikiqtaaluk.

Towns and settlements

Language

Main article: Greenlandic language

Kalaallisut, the West Greenlandic dialect, is spoken in the towns and settlements of the western and northwestern coasts. Inuktun is also spoken in and around Qaanaaq.

See also

References and notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qaasuitsup.
  1. ↑ Qaasuitsup Kommunia (English)
  2. ↑ Statistics Greenland, Greenland in Figures 2010
  3. 1 2 Greenland in Figures 2013 (PDF). Statistics Greenland. ISBN 978-87-986787-7-9. ISSN 1602-5709. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Qaasuitsup Municipality (Kalaallisut)
  5. ↑ "Fakta om kommunen" (in Danish). Qaasuitsup Municipality, Official Website. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  6. ↑ not considering the Chilean Antarctic commune, which is not internationally recognized
  7. ↑ France at the CIA World Factbook
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