The Ilulissat Icefjord occupies an area of 40,240 hectares on the west coast of Greenland, about 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. It is located on the mouth of the Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few Glaciers by which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea.
The Ilulissat Icefjord occupies an area of 40,240 hectares on the west coast of Greenland, about 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. It is located on the mouth of the Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few Glaciers by which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea.
The Sermeq Kujalleq is one fastest growing glaciers in the world, accumulating at least 19 meters of ice every day and calving about 35 square kilometers of ice every year. This is about 10% of the total production of ice by the Greenland calf ice. The Greenland ice calf has been studied for more than 250 years and has helped in understanding climatic changes and ice-cap glaciology. The Illulissat Fjord features huge ice sheet and awe inspiring sounds of fast moving glacial streams.
Flora
The area features low arctic type flora that is typical of nutrient deficient siliceous soil. In fact it is a wonder that you can find any king of vegetation in such hostile weather conditions. Here you will find the heath, herb slope, snow patch, willow scrub, fen and riverbank vegetation.
Marine Fauna
Among the fauna species that you are going to find here include the 20 species of fish, Atlantic cod, Greenland shark, harp seals, fin and minke whale. On some autumn seasons, you can spot the beluga whales in Disko Bugt. The calving icebergs bring up nutrient rich water that is ideal for the proliferation of the invertebrates.
The area is characterized with huge populations of seabirds such as the large flocks of fulmar and gulls that feed among the grounded icebergs. Others include the Iceland gulls, the glaucous gulls, the great black backed gulls, the kittiwakes and guillemots, and the great cormorant.
Terrestrial Fauna
The area has some few species of land birds. You can also get lucky and sight terrestrial mammals such as the Arctic hare, the Reindeer and the polar bears.
Human Settlement
For more than 4500 years, Greenland has been occupied by settler that migrated from Asia via the Bering Straits and northwestern Greenland. They came in 3 major waves including; The Saqqaq, the Dorset and the Thule Peoples. The middens discovered at the Thule settlement of the Sermermuit near Ilulissat is a clear testament of this early dwellers of the ice country. In AD985 to 1450, the Norsemen inhabited the southwestern Greenland and in the 16th to 18th centuries, whalers explored the area and inhabited some places. The first Danish settlement in Greenland was in 1742 at a place called Jakobshavn, now known as Ilulissat.
If you have the means, the best way to sea this area is and the surrounding Arctic Circle Marvels is on a cruise. You will get enough time to see the world and enjoy the beauty of the icy landscape.