Uummannaq | |
|---|---|
 Uummannaq in August 2008 | |
  Uummannaq Location within Greenland | |
| Coordinates:70°40′29″N52°07′35″W / 70.67472°N 52.12639°W /70.67472; -52.12639 | |
| State |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |  Greenland |
| Municipality | Avannaata |
| Founded | 1763 |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 1,391[1] |
| Time zone | UTC−02:00 (Western Greenland Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−01:00 (Western Greenland Summer Time) |
| Postal code | 3961 |
Uummannaq[2] is a town onUummannaq Island in theAvannaata municipality, in central-westernGreenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020,[1] it is theeighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763[3] asOmenak,[4] the town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry.[5] In 1932, the Universal Greenland-Filmexpedition with director Arnold Fanck released the filmS.O.S. Eisberg near Uummannaq.[6]
Uummannaq is located 590 kilometres north of theArctic Circle onUummannaq Island, located in the south-central arm of theUummannaq Fjord.Uummannaq is also the general name given to the series of inlets north of the promontory atNiaqornat on theNuussuaq Peninsula.
The island is also home toUummannaq Mountain, rising very sharply to the height of 1170 m. Climbing it requires technical skills.
Air Greenland operates helicopter services toQaarsut Airport fromUummannaq Heliport. The neighbouring villages in the Uummannaq area are served by district cargo helicopters. In summer months,Royal Arctic Line operates its 'bygdeservice' with sailings by small ships to its neighbouring villages, including a service to Qaarsut.
Danish and Greenlandic children are told thatSanta Claus lives in Spraglebugten Bay in the west of the island. A turf hut (Santa's Castle) was built there for a Danish television programme and remains Santa's home in the popular imagination.[7][8]
Scottish singerKT Tunstall's third albumTiger Suit features the track "Uummannaq Song", which was inspired by her trip to the town in September 2008 with Cape Farewell.[9]
Uummannaq is home toUummannaq Music – the world's northernmost music platform on sea ice.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
Uummannaq experiences atundra climate (Köppen: ET); with short, quite cool summers and long, frigid winters.[16] Due to the town's position within the largeUummannaq Fjord, the settlement is sheltered from the coastal winds by the high, glaciatedmountains of theNuussuaq Peninsula. Consequently, occasional strongfoehn winds from the southeast can occur, raising thetemperature abovefreezing even inwinter.[17] Moreover, this causes the area to be considered as the sunniest spot inGreenland.[18] Climate data was collated from 2000 to 2020 at the nearbyQaarsut Airport, 25 km (16 mi) northwest of the town.[19]
| Climate data for Uummannaq (Qaarsut Airport) (70°44′N52°41′W / 70.73°N 52.68°W /70.73; -52.68) (88 m (289 ft) AMSL) (2000-2020 data) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.2 (48.6) | 9.6 (49.3) | 14.4 (57.9) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.7 (65.7) | 21.4 (70.5) | 20.6 (69.1) | 16.4 (61.5) | 14.0 (57.2) | 9.7 (49.5) | 11.2 (52.2) | 21.4 (70.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.9 (16.0) | −11.2 (11.8) | −10.6 (12.9) | −4.7 (23.5) | 2.7 (36.9) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.2 (54.0) | 10.6 (51.1) | 4.8 (40.6) | −0.3 (31.5) | −4.4 (24.1) | −6.8 (19.8) | −0.6 (30.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.6 (11.1) | −14.3 (6.3) | −14.3 (6.3) | −8.6 (16.5) | −0.4 (31.3) | 5.8 (42.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 7.7 (45.9) | 2.5 (36.5) | −2.5 (27.5) | −6.8 (19.8) | −9.1 (15.6) | −3.5 (25.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −14.3 (6.3) | −17.4 (0.7) | −17.6 (0.3) | −12.4 (9.7) | −3.3 (26.1) | 2.9 (37.2) | 6.0 (42.8) | 4.7 (40.5) | 0.0 (32.0) | −4.8 (23.4) | −9.1 (15.6) | −11.6 (11.1) | −6.4 (20.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −30.3 (−22.5) | −31.9 (−25.4) | −33.9 (−29.0) | −27.7 (−17.9) | −16.2 (2.8) | −4.3 (24.3) | −1.1 (30.0) | −0.9 (30.4) | −9.6 (14.7) | −14.0 (6.8) | −18.8 (−1.8) | −27.4 (−17.3) | −33.9 (−29.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 16 (0.6) | 16 (0.6) | 17 (0.7) | 17 (0.7) | 16 (0.6) | 22 (0.9) | 28 (1.1) | 28 (1.1) | 36 (1.4) | 28 (1.1) | 33 (1.3) | 25 (1.0) | 280 (11.0) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 118 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 63.0 | 64.6 | 66.3 | 67.8 | 75.0 | 75.2 | 71.6 | 69.6 | 67.1 | 63.1 | 62.4 | 62.0 | 67.3 |
| Source 1:Danish Meteorological Institute (1981-2020 data)[20] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Climates To Travel[21] | |||||||||||||
Uummannaq is the second-largest town in the Avannaata municipality. It had 1,407 inhabitants in 2020,[1] which was a decrease of more than 12% relative to the population in 2000.[1]
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