Upernavik
| Upernavik | |
|---|---|
July 2007 aerial view of Upernavik
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 Upernavik
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| Coordinates: 72°47′13″N 56°08′50″W / 72.78694°N 56.14722°WCoordinates: 72°47′13″N 56°08′50″W / 72.78694°N 56.14722°W | |
| State |
 Kingdom of Denmark
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| Constituent country |
 Greenland
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| Municipality |
 Qaasuitsup
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| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 1,181 |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) |
| Postal code | 3962 |
Upernavik (Kalaallisut: "Springtime Place") is a small town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,181 inhabitants as of 2013, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. Owing to the small size of the settlement, everything is within walking distance. It contains the Upernavik Museum. It is the northern-most town in Greenland with a population of over 1,000.
The town was founded as Upernavik in 1772. From the former name of its island, it was sometimes known as Women's Island; its name was also sometimes Anglicized to "Uppernavik". In 1824, the Kingittorsuaq Runestone was found outside the town. It bears runic characters left by Norsemen, probably from the late 13th century. The runic characters list the names of three Norsemen and mention the construction of a rock cairn nearby.
This is the furthest north that any Norse artifacts have been found, other than those small artifacts that could have been carried north by Inuit traders and marks the northern known limit of Viking exploration.
Upernavik is served by Air Greenland, with scheduled flights from Upernavik Airport to Qaanaaq, Qaarsut, and Ilulissat. Most settlements in the archipelago are served during weekdays with the Bell 212 helicopter.
In the summer, a small ferry of Royal Arctic Line sails to local villages.
Upernavik is located within Upernavik Archipelago, a vast archipelago of small islands on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at approximately 71°50′N 56°00′W / 71.833°N 56.000°W to the southern end of Melville Bay (Greenlandic: Qimusseriarsuaq) in the north at approximately 74°50′N 57°30′W / 74.833°N 57.500°W.
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