Aajuitsup Tasia is a large lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in central-western Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, in the Qeqqata

Qeqqata

Qeqqata is a new municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,677 as of January 2010. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut...

 municipality. It is located approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) northeast of Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality, located at the head of a fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub, being the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport....

. It is of elongated oval shape, with its western shore at 67°04′45"N 50°30′02"W and its eastern shore at 67°05′35"N 50°16′30"W. Aajuitsup Tasia is an oligotroph

Oligotroph

An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments...

ic lake of 32 m (105 ft) depth, covering an area of 1,350ha.

Geography

The 2x10 km lake is separated from the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua

Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua

Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua is a river and valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its source is the meltwater outflow from Russell Glacier, an outflow of the Greenland ice sheet. The river is a tributary of Qinnguata Kuussua, the main river in the Kangerlussuaq...

 valley and Kangerlussuaq in the south by a low tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

 ridge − part of the Kangaamiut dike swarm. To the west lies a sibling Sanningasoq

Sanningasoq

Sanningasoq is a large oligotrophic twin lake in central-western Greenland, in the Qeqqata municipality. It is located approximately northeast of Kangerlussuaq. It is characteristic in that it is composed of two lakes connected via a narrow water passage through a broken isthmus...

 twin lake. To the north-east lies the wide highland of Isunngua

Isunngua

Isunngua is a highland in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, located immediately west of the Greenland Ice Sheet edge. In large part it is covered by the tundra, although in the immediate vicinity of the Sermersuaq ice sheet it gradually becomes exposed, barren, and largely...

.

The surface of Aajuitsup Tasia is almost level with the surface of the neighboring meltwater lake, an outflow of Russell Glacier

Russell Glacier

Russell Glacier is a glacier in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It flows from the Greenland ice sheet in the western direction. The front of the glacier is located east of Kangerlussuaq...

. The altitude differential produces an outflowing bog

Bog

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

gy stream flowing from Aajuitsup Tasia to the unnamed meltwater lake, allowing Aajuitsup Tasia to retain its freshwater character despite being directly in the glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

outflow path.

External links

• Underwater photography in the lake at Tropica Aquarium Plants