Alison Bay
Encyclopedia
Alison Bay is a bay
in the Qaasuitsup
municipality in northwestern Greenland
. The bay is a tributary bay of Melville Bay
, and is located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago
, between Kiatassuaq Island
in the southwest and the mainland of Greenland in the northeast.
region, the bay is frozen for most of the year. In the northeast, it is bounded by the Wandel Land
nunatak
, culimnating in an unnamed 931 m (3,054.5 ft) peak. Iterlassuaq, a small indentiation of the bay separates Wandel Land in the north from Qaqqasungnarsuaq − another, smaller nunatak, culminating in an unnamed 510 m (1,673.2 ft) peak.
A small unnamed glacier tongue of Greenland ice sheet
drains the latter into the innermost part of the bay, east of the opening of the Ikerasaa Strait
. The strait flows west-south-westward between Kiatassuaq Island
in the north, and Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula
in the south. The entrance to the strait is split into two channels, with a small Milissua Island straddling the middle.
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
in the Qaasuitsup
Qaasuitsup
Qaasuitsup is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. As of January 2010 its population is 17,749. The administrative center of the municipality is in Ilulissat...
municipality in northwestern 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...
. The bay is a tributary bay of Melville Bay
Melville Bay
Melville Bay , is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, Qimusseriarsuaq, means "the great dog sledding place"....
, and is located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast archipelago of small islands in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay...
, between Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island is an uninhabited island in the Melville Bay region of the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- History :...
in the southwest and the mainland of Greenland in the northeast.
Geography
Alison bay is 20.5 km (12.7 mi) long. Part of the southern Melville BayMelville Bay
Melville Bay , is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, Qimusseriarsuaq, means "the great dog sledding place"....
region, the bay is frozen for most of the year. In the northeast, it is bounded by the Wandel Land
Wandel Land
Wandel Land is a nunatak in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of several nunataks in the Melville Bay region of Greenland, where the Greenland ice sheet drains into the bay alongside its entire length apart from an occasional nunatak.- Geography :Wandel Land is...
nunatak
Nunatak
A nunatak is an exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within an ice field or glacier. The term is typically used in areas where a permanent ice sheet is present...
, culimnating in an unnamed 931 m (3,054.5 ft) peak. Iterlassuaq, a small indentiation of the bay separates Wandel Land in the north from Qaqqasungnarsuaq − another, smaller nunatak, culminating in an unnamed 510 m (1,673.2 ft) peak.
A small unnamed glacier tongue of Greenland ice sheet
Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...
drains the latter into the innermost part of the bay, east of the opening of the Ikerasaa Strait
Ikerasaa Strait
Ikerasaa Strait is a strait in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. The strait separates Kiatassuaq Island in the north from the mainland Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula in the south...
. The strait flows west-south-westward between Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island is an uninhabited island in the Melville Bay region of the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- History :...
in the north, and Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula
Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula
Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula is a mainland peninsula in northwestern Greenland, located at the northern end of Upernavik Archipelago.- Geography :The Sanningassorsuaq Peninsula is long, and wide...
in the south. The entrance to the strait is split into two channels, with a small Milissua Island straddling the middle.