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Ittoqqortoormiit | |
|---|---|
 View of Ittoqqortoormiit from the sea | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Ittoqqortoormiit Location withinGreenland | |
| Coordinates:70°29′07″N21°58′00″W / 70.48528°N 21.96667°W /70.48528; -21.96667 | |
| State |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |  Greenland |
| Municipality |  Sermersooq |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Population (1 January 2025) | |
• Total | 325[1] |
| Time zone | UTC−02:00 (WGT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−01:00 (WGST) |
| Postal code | 3980 |
Ittoqqortoormiit (East Greenlandic[itːɔqːɔtːɔːmːiːt];West Greenlandic:Illoqqortoormiut[iɬːɔqːɔtːɔːmːiut]; formerly known asScoresbysund) is a settlement in theSermersooq municipality in easternGreenland. Its population was 325 as of 2025, and it has been described as one of the most remote settlements on Earth.[1][2][3]
The former name Scoresbysund derives from the English Arctic explorer and whalerWilliam Scoresby, who was the first European to map the area in 1822. The name "Ittoqqortoormiit" means "big house dwellers" in the EasternGreenlandic dialect. The region is known for its wildlife, includingpolar bears,muskoxen, and seals.
Ittoqqortoormiit is located onLiverpool Land, east ofHurry Inlet near the mouth of the northern shore of theKangertittivaq fjord, which empties into theGreenland Sea.[4]
The nearest other settlement in Greenland isKulusuk, 831 kilometres (516 mi) away. The nearest other settlement isSandvík, Grímsey, Iceland, 466 kilometres (290 mi) away.
The time zone in Ittoqqortoormiit isUTC-02:00, the same as most of Greenland's population.[5] Until 2023, it had previously been two hours ahead of most of Greenland.
Ittoqqortoormiit was founded in 1925 byEjnar Mikkelsen and some 80Inuit settlers (70 persons fromTasiilaq and four families from western Greenland). They were brought on the shipGustav Holm and settled 400 kilometres (249 miles) south of the last known Inuit settlement in northeastern Greenland (Eskimonæs atDødemandsbugten on the south coast ofClavering Ø, 27 km (17 miles) southwest of laterDaneborg, 1823).
The settlement was encouraged by the colonial powerDenmark, which at the time had a growing interest in Northeast Greenland. At the same time, thecolonization was intended to improve declining living conditions in Tasiilaq,[citation needed] from where the settlers were more or less voluntarily[clarification needed] transferred. The settlers soon prospered on the good hunting conditions of the new area, which was rich inseals,walruses,narwhals,polar bears andArctic foxes.
Before that, the area itself had been home to a dense population of Inuit in the past, as testified by ruins and otherarcheological remains.
Ittoqqortoormiit Municipality was a former municipality of Greenland. It is now part ofSermersooq Municipality.
Starting on 30 October 2023, the area was moved from East Greenland Time to West Greenland Time, one hour ahead.[6]
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Local hunters have made a living from whale andpolar bear hunting for generations, and it remains, up to the present, a significant cultural-economical factor in the area. Meat and by-products play a direct part in the economy of the hunting families. Income is gained by trading these products, but these options are seasonal and variable.
Ittoqqortoormiit lies near large populations ofshrimp andGreenland halibut, but the presence ofsea ice prevents the exploitation of these resources year-round, and as a result fishing has never been extensively developed in the municipality.
Tourism, on the other hand, is growing in importance because it is of interest to researchers and extreme Arctic expeditions on land and by sea. Ittoqqortoormiit is the closest town in Greenland from Iceland and its ecosystem, hunting culture and remoteness are of interest to a growing number of travelers primarily from Europe. A local company, Nanu Travel, owns the only guest house in the settlement and arranges tours and expedition logistics for visitors. The Guest House was featured in thehotels.com #RemoteAF campaign in 2018 because of its status as one of the most remote hotels on earth. The buildings at the abandonedUunarteq settlement, also known asKap Tobin, 7.5 km (4.7 mi) south of Ittoqqortoormiit, are used for various purposes all year by the inhabitants of Ittoqqortoormiit.
Ittoqqortoormiit is one of the most remote towns in Greenland. It is served byIttoqqortoormiit Heliport, withAir Greenland helicopters shuttling passengers between the settlement andNerlerit Inaat Airport (38 km (24 mi) distance), with boat transfer also possible for a few months a year.Norlandair operates two weekly flights fromReykjavík Airport andAkureyri Airport to Nerlerit Inaat.
In 2025, a decision was made to construct an airport in Ittoqqortoormiit, financed by the Danish state. This will eliminate the need for helicopter transfers and the use ofNerlerit Inaat Airport.[7]
Ittoqqortoormiit features atundra climate (KöppenET) with cold winters, chilly summers and no monthly average close to the 10 °C (50 °F) threshold that would allow tree growth. It has an average annual temperature of −5.0 °C (23.0 °F).
In the afternoon of 22 February 2005, the time of year that is normally the coldest, the temperature in the village briefly reached +15.9 °C (60.6 °F)[8] due to a combination of exceptionally warm airmasses and a strongfoehn effect. This is only 5.1 °C (9.2 °F) different from the all-time record high and surpasses the record high of September, the fourth-warmest month.
| Climate data for Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.5 (56.3) | 15.9 (60.6) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 9.5 (49.1) | 17.7 (63.9) | 18.5 (65.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.9 (48.0) | 9.7 (49.5) | 7.5 (45.5) | 21.0 (69.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −9.4 (15.1) | −10.2 (13.6) | −9.7 (14.5) | −4.8 (23.4) | 0.8 (33.4) | 6.1 (43.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 8.6 (47.5) | 3.9 (39.0) | −2.3 (27.9) | −6.3 (20.7) | −8.8 (16.2) | −1.9 (28.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.9 (8.8) | −13.5 (7.7) | −13.2 (8.2) | −8.5 (16.7) | −2.1 (28.2) | 2.8 (37.0) | 6.0 (42.8) | 5.6 (42.1) | 1.5 (34.7) | −4.6 (23.7) | −9.2 (15.4) | −12.0 (10.4) | −5.0 (23.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −16.2 (2.8) | −17.1 (1.2) | −17.1 (1.2) | −12.6 (9.3) | −5.2 (22.6) | −0.2 (31.6) | 2.6 (36.7) | 2.7 (36.9) | −0.7 (30.7) | −6.8 (19.8) | −11.9 (10.6) | −15.3 (4.5) | −8.1 (17.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −36.9 (−34.4) | −36.6 (−33.9) | −40.5 (−40.9) | −33.5 (−28.3) | −18.3 (−0.9) | −7.1 (19.2) | −3.5 (25.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | −8.0 (17.6) | −19.3 (−2.7) | −25.1 (−13.2) | −30.0 (−22.0) | −40.5 (−40.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 63.2 (2.49) | 62.6 (2.46) | 42.4 (1.67) | 26.8 (1.06) | 20.3 (0.80) | 12.0 (0.47) | 28.3 (1.11) | 37.3 (1.47) | 68.0 (2.68) | 56.1 (2.21) | 42.7 (1.68) | 57.1 (2.25) | 516.8 (20.35) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 66 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 1 | 31 | 108 | 205 | 251 | 291 | 278 | 229 | 142 | 71 | 8 | 0 | 1,583 |
| Source 1:Danish Meteorological Institute (sun 1982–1999)[9][10][11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:NOAA (precipitation days 1961–1990)[12] | |||||||||||||
The population of Ittoqqortoormiit has fluctuated over the past three decades, decreasing about 35% since 2006.[1]
Ittoqqortoormiit population dynamics. 1991–2020.Source:Statistics Greenland[1]
Ittoqqortoormiit istwinned with:
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