Upernavik | |
|---|---|
 Upernavik in July 2007 | |
  Upernavik Location within Greenland | |
| Coordinates:72°47′13″N56°08′50″W / 72.78694°N 56.14722°W /72.78694; -56.14722 | |
| State |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |  Greenland |
| Municipality | Avannaata |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 1,087[1] |
| Time zone | UTC−02:00 (Western Greenland Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−01:00 (Western Greenland Summer Time) |
| Postal code | 3962 |
Upernavik is a small town in theAvannaatamunicipality in northwesternGreenland, located on a smallisland of the same name. With 1,064 inhabitants as of 2024,[2] it is thetwelfth-largest town in Greenland. It contains theUpernavik Museum.
The town was founded as Upernavik in 1772.[3] From the former name of its island, it was sometimes known as Women's Island; its name was also sometimes Anglicized to "Uppernavik".[4]
In 1824, theKingittorsuaq Runestone was found outside the town. It bears runic characters left byNorsemen, probably from the late 13th century. The runic characters list the names of three Norsemen and mention the construction of a rockcairn nearby.
This is the furthest north that any Norse artifacts have been found, other than those small artifacts that could have been carried north byInuit traders, and marks the northern known limit of Viking exploration.
Sailors searching for lostpolar expeditions sometimes used the city as a staging ground.[5]
Upernavik is served byAir Greenland, with scheduled flights fromUpernavik Airport toQaanaaq,Qaarsut, andIlulissat.[6] Most settlements in the archipelago are served during weekdays with theBell 212 helicopter.[6]
AUL ferries have ceased passenger services north of Ilulissat, leaving Upernavik totally dependent on Air Greenland services, which are frequently cancelled due to weather conditions. Cargo arrives several times a year onRoyal Arctic Line when sea ice permits, usually beginning in early to mid May annually.
Upernavik is located withinUpernavik Archipelago, a vast archipelago of small islands on the coast of northeasternBaffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast ofSigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at approximately71°50′N56°00′W / 71.833°N 56.000°W /71.833; -56.000[7] to the southern end ofMelville Bay (Greenlandic:Qimusseriarsuaq) in the north at approximately74°50′N57°30′W / 74.833°N 57.500°W /74.833; -57.500.[8]
With 1,092 inhabitants as of 2020, Upernavik is the third-largest town in the Avannaata municipality.[9][10] The population has been relatively stable over the last two decades and has increased by more than 28% relative to the 1990 levels,[9] with migrants from the smaller settlements in the archipelago helping keep the population level stable. CyclistHanne Malmberg was born in Upernavik. She represented Denmark at the1992 Summer Olympics.[11]
Upernavik has atundra climate (Köppen climate classificationET). Winters are very cold and snowy and summers are quite cool. With a mean of just 6.4 °C (43.5 °F) in July, trees are unable to grow. Autumn and winter are the wettest time of the year and spring is the driest.
| Climate data for Upernavik (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1958–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11.0 (51.8) | 8.0 (46.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 15.0 (59.0) | 18.0 (64.4) | 22.6 (72.7) | 19.9 (67.8) | 14.3 (57.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 9.6 (49.3) | 12.2 (54.0) | 22.6 (72.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −14.3 (6.3) | −16.5 (2.3) | −16.0 (3.2) | −8.9 (16.0) | −0.9 (30.4) | 6.2 (43.2) | 9.4 (48.9) | 8.2 (46.8) | 3.3 (37.9) | −1.8 (28.8) | −5.9 (21.4) | −9.4 (15.1) | −3.9 (25.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −16.7 (1.9) | −19.2 (−2.6) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −11.9 (10.6) | −3.3 (26.1) | 3.2 (37.8) | 6.4 (43.5) | 5.7 (42.3) | 1.4 (34.5) | −3.4 (25.9) | −7.6 (18.3) | −11.4 (11.5) | −6.3 (20.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.9 (−2.0) | −21.6 (−6.9) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −14.7 (5.5) | −5.5 (22.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | 3.8 (38.8) | 3.6 (38.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | −4.9 (23.2) | −9.2 (15.4) | −13.3 (8.1) | −8.5 (16.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −34.9 (−30.8) | −38.4 (−37.1) | −39.0 (−38.2) | −30.2 (−22.4) | −22.6 (−8.7) | −7.5 (18.5) | −4.0 (24.8) | −3.8 (25.2) | −12.2 (10.0) | −14.5 (5.9) | −25.6 (−14.1) | −31.6 (−24.9) | −39.0 (−38.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 12 (0.5) | 13 (0.5) | 8 (0.3) | 14 (0.6) | 10 (0.4) | 14 (0.6) | 29 (1.1) | 26 (1.0) | 38 (1.5) | 33 (1.3) | 34 (1.3) | 20 (0.8) | 251 (9.9) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 9.1 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 12.6 | 13.5 | 16.2 | 14.9 | 123.4 |
| Average snowy days | 9.0 | 8.5 | 6.7 | 9.0 | 7.8 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 8.2 | 12.8 | 15.9 | 14.7 | 98.4 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 80.6 | 80.7 | 79.3 | 80.0 | 83.8 | 80.3 | 77.7 | 77.9 | 79.0 | 80.0 | 78.4 | 79.9 | 79.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 0 | 18 | 106 | 214 | 234 | 225 | 271 | 214 | 104 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 1,426 |
| Source:Danish Meteorological Institute (precipitation and snow 1958–1981, humidity 2005-2020, sun 1931–1960)[12][13][14][15] | |||||||||||||
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