Uummannaq

Uummannaq

The town of Uummannaq is located in the municipality of Avannaata, in the mid-western part of Greenland, and is home to the country's northernmost ferry port. The town was founded in 1763 as Omenak, it is a hunting and fishing base, and has a cannery and marble quarry. Uummannaq is found on Uummannaq Island, 590 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, in the south-central branch of the Uummannaq Fjord. A small bay in the southeast of the island is home to the port of Uummannaq. The harbor isn't deep enough for large cruise liners, but is deep enough to accommodate Royal Arctic Line and Royal Greenland supply and fishing vessels, along with motorboats and smaller fishing boats. Tasersuaq Lake and Blue Lake are two important lakes on the island, and on the plateau south of Mount Uummannaq there are also several small ponds. Mount Uummannaq is situated on the north part of the island, and rises very steeply to 1170 meters, requiring a high level of technical skill to climb. It is the dominant feature of the island's landscape, with its base stretching across the entire northern half of the island. It is made up of granite and basement gneiss, and is the most prominent mountain range on the Arctic part of Greenland's west coast. Often depicted in works of art, the mountain is one of Greenland's landmarks and a tourist attraction. Because of its remote location and significant difficulty, few climbers have attempted the ascent. Prior to 1992, only two ascents were known.