Isortoq Fjord
Encyclopedia
Isortoq Fjord is a fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 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 in 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...

. The fjord to the east of Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq is a town in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. With 2,784 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland...

, emptying into Davis Strait
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage....

. Majorqaq
Majorqaq
Majorqaq is a meltwater river and valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It is one of the widest rivers in western Greenland, draining the Greenland ice sheet.- Geography :...

, one of the widest rivers in western Greenland draining the 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...

, empties into the fjord head.

Geography

Isortoq Fjord is 45 km (28 mi) long. The head of the fjord at 65°35′30"N 51°54′00"W is formed by the delta of the wide Majorqaq
Majorqaq
Majorqaq is a meltwater river and valley of the same name in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It is one of the widest rivers in western Greenland, draining the Greenland ice sheet.- Geography :...

 river flowing from the north, and the estuary of a smaller Isuitsup Kuua flowing from the east. The fjord flows southwestward, opening into an inlet of Davis Strait
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage....

 at 65°21′00"N 52°40′00"W, to the southeast of Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq is a town in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. With 2,784 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland...

, with its mouth dotted with several skerries
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack....

 on the northern side.

Settlement

The shores of the fjord are uninhabited. Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq is a town in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. With 2,784 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland...

town is located 10 km (6.2 mi) to the northwest of the fjord mouth, on an island of the same name.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK