Niaqornat is a settlement 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...

. Niaqornat means “the head-shaped” in Greenlandic. The settlement is located on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq Peninsula

Nuussuaq Peninsula

Nuussuaq Peninsula is a large peninsula in western Greenland.- Geography :The waters around the peninsula are that of Baffin Bay. To the south and southwest the peninsula is bounded by Disko Bay, an inlet of Baffin Bay. It is separated from Qeqertarsuaq Island by Sullorsuaq Strait which...

, with a wide view over Uummannaq Fjord

Uummannaq Fjord

Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland...

. It had 58 inhabitants in 2010.

Economy

Fishing

Fishing is the mainstay of the economy, with stocks of Atlantic cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

, Greenland halibut

Greenland halibut

The Greenland halibut or Greenland turbot belongs to the Pleuronectidae family , and is the only species of the genus Reinhardtius. It is a deepwater fish distributed from 200 to 1600 m but has been caught at depths more than...

 and Greenland shark

Greenland shark

The Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, also known as the sleeper shark, gurry shark, ground shark, grey shark, or by the Inuit languages name Eqalussuaq, is a large shark native to the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean around Greenland and Iceland. These sharks live farther north than any...

. A variety of mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

 species are exploited: ringed seal

Ringed Seal

The ringed seal , also known as the jar seal and as netsik or nattiq by the Inuit, is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions...

, bearded seal

Bearded Seal

The bearded seal , also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words that refer to its heavy jaw...

, harp seal

Harp Seal

The harp seal or saddleback seal is a species of earless seal native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean. It now belongs to the monotypic genus Pagophilus. Its scientific name, Pagophilus groenlandicus, means "ice-lover from Greenland", and its synonym, Phoca...

, hooded seal

Hooded Seal

The hooded seal is an arctic pinniped found only in the central and western North Atlantic ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St...

, and walrus

Walrus

The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...

. There is a seasonal catch of narwhal

Narwhal

The narwhal, Monodon monoceros, is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the beluga whale, the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight, helical tusk extending from their...

 and beluga – on rare occasions pilot whale

Pilot whale

Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. There are two extant species, the long-finned pilot whale and the short-finned pilot whale . The two are not readily distinguished at sea and analysis of the skulls is the best way to tell the difference between them...

s are caught. Capelin

Capelin

The capelin or caplin, Mallotus villosus, is a small forage fish of the smelt family found in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin also eat a great deal of krill and other crustaceans...

 and fin whales

Fin Whale

The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...

 have been observed at Niaqornat as late as in November in recent years. Like other settlements in northwestern Greenland, Niaqornat experiences the effects of global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

.

Hunting

During spring a few polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

s are shot. The catch includes reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

/caribou, Arctic hare

Arctic Hare

The arctic hare , or polar rabbit is a species of hare which is adapted largely to polar and mountainous habitats. The arctic hare survives with a thick coat of fur and usually digs holes under the ground or snow to keep warm and sleep...

, ptarmigan and various sea birds. Niaqornat represents a traditional hunting culture where both dog sleds and small dinghies are used during the exploitation of the marine resources. The settlement is well situated for studies of narwhal, beluga, polar bear as well as other marine resources such as the ringed seal. Niaqornat is an example of a well functioning small settlement in which the inhabitants still live from exploitation of the local living resources and it represents a continuation in modern times of the Greenlandic hunting culture.

Infrastructure

The settlement is able to communicate with the rest of the world via satellite and telephone and access to the internet. The settlement is in possession a 3 million liter water tank that supplies the settlement with fresh water from a lake in the mountain. There is also a community house where the inhabitants have access to a modern laundry and bath. The inhabitants have formed a local organisation that will work for attracting more tourists – especially from cruise ships. In 2007, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources – which has its main office further south, in Nuuk

Nuuk

Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...

, the capital of Greenland – established a field station in Niaqornat. In November 2007 there were 9 pupils in the local school.

Transport

Air Greenland

Air Greenland

Air Greenland A/S is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, jointly owned by the government of Greenland, the SAS Group, and the government of Denmark...

 serves the village as part of government contract, with mostly cargo helicopter flights from Niaqornat Heliport

Niaqornat Heliport

Niaqornat Heliport is a heliport in Niaqornat, a village on the northeastern shore of Nuussuaq Peninsula in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland...

 to the local hub in Uummannaq

Uummannaq

Uummannaq is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. With 1,299 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the eleventh-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal...

. There are no direct flights to Qaarsut Airport

Qaarsut Airport

Qaarsut Airport is an airport in Qaarsut, a settlement on the Nuussuaq Peninsula in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is a primary airport with a gravel runway, capable of serving STOL aircraft of Air Greenland in all seasons...

 located in Qaarsut

Qaarsut

Qaarsut is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. It is situated on the northeastern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula...

, a village 37 km southwest of Niaqornat on the same shore of Nuussuaq Peninsula. All passengers must therefore transfer in Uummannaq Heliport

Uummannaq Heliport

Uummannaq Heliport is a heliport in Uummannaq, a town located on Uummannaq Island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. There are no facilities in the heliport.-Airlines and destinations:...

.

Population

The population of Niaqornat has dropped by nearly a third relative to the 1990 levels, and by nearly a quarter relative to the 2000 levels, reflecting a general trend in the region.

External links

• arktiskebilleder.dk Historical images from Niaqornat.