Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq Søndre Strømfjord
Myers Avenue with church and congress centre
Kangerlussuaq Location within Greenland
Coordinates: 67°00′31″N 50°41′21″W / 67.00861°N 50.68917°W / 67.00861; -50.68917Coordinates: 67°00′31″N 50°41′21″W / 67.00861°N 50.68917°W / 67.00861; -50.68917
State	Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country	Greenland
Municipality	Qeqqata
Founded	1941
Government
• Mayor	Albrecht Kreutzmann
Population (2016)
• Total	499
Time zone	UTC-03
Postal code	3910

Kangerlussuaq (English: "Big Fjord" from Kalaallisut language), (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord), is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord). It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and then Sondrestrom Air Base. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The settlement's economy and population of 499 is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry.

Kangerlussuaq occupies an alluvial flatland on the far end of the 190 km longKangerlussuaq Fjord, straddling both sides of the Qinnguata Kuussua river estuary. East of Kangerlussuaq there is a confluence of the two major regional rivers, the Qinnguata Kuussua and Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua. The valley of the latter forms large quicksand plains. Both rivers originate from the Russell Glacier. The edge of the glacier is easily accessible and is a major tourist attraction from the town, as is the edge of the ice sheet in the Isunngua highlands to its northeast.

Highlands such as Tarajornitsut bound Kangerlussuaq from the north and south. To the southeast behind lake Tasersuatsiaq, which provides fresh water to the town, is the vast highland of Ammalortup Nunaa, the original region artificially populated with 27 muskoxen.