Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq ( also outdated Kangerdlugssuaq, Danish Sondre Strømfjord ) is a place in Greenland with 513 inhabitants ( as of 2012).

Geography

The village is located roughly at the polar circle, at the end of the 170 km long fjord of the same name, which means " long fjord ", on the west coast of Greenland.

Kangerlussuaq has its own international airport, the Kangerlussuaq Airport, formerly Sondre Strømfjord Airport. Air Greenland operates from here direct flights to Copenhagen, as well as many transfer flights into the country from. Flight time to Denmark is approximately 04:30 h

The ice is about 25 km away from Kangerlussuaq.

History

The place dates back to a U.S. Army base, which was used from 7 October 1941 to 27 April 1951. The airport of Kangerlussuaq was 1948/49, to a supporting role during the Berlin blockade, as the supply of goods which were destined for the Berlin Airlift, was settled over this base. Parts of the airport are still used by the U.S. military. So the New York Air National Guard ( NYAG ), where it maintains a base, from which to boot from Hercules machines that are equipped with skids for landing on the ice. Objectives are, for example, the research stations Camp Summit Camp North Camp Raven Grip or where in the summer months for soldiers survival training is carried out in the ice.

For a long time Kangerlussuaq unincorporated community, until 1 January 2002, it was connected to the community Sisimiut. Since its dissolution in the course of administrative reform on 1 January 2009, the area belongs to Qeqqata Press Office.

Economy

Kangerlussuaq has a seaport (only during the summer months in use), a hotel, a supermarket, a convention center, a school and a sports club. A road connection to other Greenland locations does not exist. In the winter months, the only 170 km Sisimiut by dog sled / snowmobile be achieved.

Since 1971 Kangerlussuaq also sounding rockets of the types of Nike Apache, Petrel, Nike Tomahawk, Black Brant, Terrier Male Mute, Taurus Orion and Taurus Nike Tomahawk to study the upper atmosphere from Kangerlussuaq at 67 ° 1 ' 23 " N, 50 ° 35' 49 " W67.023055555556 - 50.596944444444 started with summit heights of up to 816 kilometers.

Another economic factor was a test site for the Volkswagen Group. This is where new developments were on ice, protected from industrial espionage and yet through the airport easily accessible, tested. The last portion of the access road is since the spring of 2009 severely damaged by weather, impassable for vehicles and only restricted to persons usable.

The road from Kangerlussuaq to the ice is the longest road in Greenland with about 35 km.

Fauna

The animal life is very rich. Among other things, you can meet near the airport musk ox. There live about 14,000 animals in the wider area. 27 muskoxen from Ittoqqortoormiit in Northeast Greenland were exposed here. Because of the good living conditions of the stock has increased far more than expected.

Tourism

The road to the VW test track leads to a lookout point at the Russell Glacier and the " Point 660 " with access to the ice. Kangerlussuaq is the starting or ending point of the so-called Arctic Circle Trail, which leads to the west coast to Sisimiut.

The American army has left recreational infrastructure such as an indoor swimming pool and a golf course in Kangerlussuaq. The latter consists exclusively of tundra vegetation and sand, and is therefore not comparable with customary golf courses. He is erroneously referred to as the northernmost golf course in the world.