Qeqertarsuaq
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Qeqertarsuaq Godhavn |
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The characteristic mountain of Qeqertarsuaq
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 Qeqertarsuaq
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| Coordinates: 69°14′50″N 53°32′00″W / 69.24722°N 53.53333°WCoordinates: 69°14′50″N 53°32′00″W / 69.24722°N 53.53333°W | |
| State |
 Kingdom of Denmark
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| Constituent country |
 Greenland
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| Municipality |
 Qaasuitsup
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| Founded | 1773 |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 845 |
| Time zone | UTC-03 |
| Postal code | 3953 |
Greenlandic: Qeqertarsuaq (in KalaallisutDanish: Godhavn) is a port and town in Qaasuitsup municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. "Qeqertarsuaq" is the Kalaallisut name for Disko Island and is also now used for several other islands on Greenland in Qaasuitsup, including those formerly known as Upernavik and Herbert Island.
In 2013, the town had 845 inhabitants. The remainder of the population of the island (less than 50 people) lives in the Kangerluk settlement, a few hours by boat to the northwest.
The total area of Disko Island and its satellite islands (mainly Qeqertarsuatsiaq Island 11 km (7 mi) northwest of the northern coast and Qeqertaq on the southwest coast at the mouth of Disko Fjord) is 9,700 km2 (3,750 sq mi). Blæsedalen valley is to the north of the town.
Kangerluk is the location where researchers found a 'galloping' glacier in 1999 that moves up to 100 meters (330 ft) a day.
Traces of settlement between five and six thousand years ago have been found at Qeqertarsuaq. The settlers were paleo-Eskimos wandering south.
During the 18th century, the first whalers came to Qeqertarsuaq, where they found a suitable anchorage. The town was founded as Godhavn by the whaler Svend Sandgreen in 1773. The name was sometimes anglicized as Guthaven and the settlement was also known as Lievely or Leifly. It served as the northernmost point in the enforcement of the Danish rights to whaling in the region. Whaling has been of great importance to the town over the past two centuries. Hunting and fishing are still the primary occupations for the island's inhabitants.
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Wikipedia