Tasersuaq 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 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 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...

. The name of the lake means large lake in the Greenlandic language, and is a common name shared by several lakes in the country.

Geography

Tasersuaq is a latitudinal lake of elongated sausage shape, extending from approximately 66°59′50"N 52°15′00"W in the west to 67°00′15"N 51°27′45"W in the east, located halfway between Sisimiut

Sisimiut

Sisimiut is a town in central-western Greenland, located on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately north of Nuuk. It is the administrative center of the Qeqqata Municipality and the second-largest town in Greenland, with a population of 5,460 people as of 2010. The site of the present-day town...

 in the west and 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....

 in the east, approximately 63 km (39.1 mi) east of the former, and 69 km (42.9 mi) west of the latter. In the northwest the lake is bounded by tall mountains of the Pingu mountain group. The range flattens considerably towards the east in the area of Kangaamiut dike swarm north of Kangerlussuaq, due to pressure exerted by 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...

  for long periods in the past. The eastern end of the lake is located just west of the Tarajornitsut

Tarajornitsut

Tarajornitsut is an uninhabited tundra highland in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland, within the bounds of Kangaamiut dike swarm. The highland has many lakes, shallow valleys, hills, and wetlands, with plentiful wildlife, such as arctic geese. It is also a major calving ground...

 highland.

Polar route

The tough, 160 km (99.4 mi) long Arctic Circle Race takes place each winter, with the trail partially overlapping with the Polar Route from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. The race was inaugurated in 1998, since then becoming an international competition. The Polar Route passes near the southwestern shore of Tasersuaq, in the Kangerluatsiarsuaq bay of the lake, where a hut erected by the Sisimiut tourist office stands at the shore. The route then heads to the southeast, towards Amitsorsuaq lake, and further east to Tarajornitsut, ending in Umiarsualivik on the shores of Kangerlussuaq Fjord

Kangerlussuaq Fjord

Kangerlussuaq Fjord is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The fjord is long and between and wide, flowing from the estuary of Qinnguata Kuussua river to the southwest, and emptying into Davis Strait...

, approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) west-south-west of Kangerlussuaq.

Panorama