Transport in Greenland

Transport in Greenland

The transportation system in Greenland is very unusual in that it has no railways, no inland waterways and virtually no roads between towns. There is a total of 150 km (90 mi) of roads in the entire country; 60 km (40 mi) of the roads are paved. There is only one pair of towns that are connected by a road, Ivittuut and Kangilinnguit. The rest are isolated. Historically the major means of transportation have been by boat around the coasts of the country in summer and by dog sled in winter, particularly in the north and east. There are ports at Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq (also known by its Danish name Søndre Strømfjord), Qaqortoq, Narsaq, Nuuk (Godthåb), Aasiaat and Sisimiut. Several other towns have also small ports.The only two users of the harbours are Royal Arctic Line and Arctic Umiaq Line.

Following the ceding of operational control of Greenland to the United States by Denmark for the period in which that country was occupied by Germany during World War II, airports were built on the island. The airports were codenamed Bluie West One through to Bluie West Eight on the west of the island and Bluie East One to Bluie East Four on the eastern side.

The largest of those airports, Bluie West Eight, now renamed Kangerlussuaq Airport, remains the international hub for travel to Greenland, as it is the only airport that has a large enough runway to service jumbo jets. American authorities at one time entertained the idea of building a road from Kangerlussuaq to the second largest airport, in Narsarsuaq, several hundred kilometres (miles) to the south. The idea was abandoned after feasibility studies failed to prove it was possible.

Greenland now has a total of 18 airstrips, 14 of which are paved. All domestic flights are operated by Air Greenland. The name was anglicized in 2002 from the Danish Grønlandsfly. International flights are limited to thrice weekly flights from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq and also to Narsarsauq with Air Greenland. Air Iceland fly from Reykjavík to Narsarsuaq and Nuuk during the summer. It offers also "day trips to the wilderness" from Reykjavík to Kulusuk on the east coast. The whole year around, Air Iceland is flying to Ittoqqortoormiit over Kulusuk once or twice a week.

Local Transport

The cities in Greenland are very small, so the most important agencies you could reach by foot. Anyhow, in Nuuk (Nuup Bussii) and Sisimiut, there is regular bus services. In Ilulissat and Qaqortoq small buses run the day along, but they don't have any schedule. Every city has its own taxi service.

In the most towns, you can hire bikes. In Nuuk, you can also hire a car or motor-scooter.

ee also

*Greenland


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Greenland — For other uses, see Greenland (disambiguation). Greenland Kalaallit Nunaat (Kalaallisut) Grønland (Danish) …   Wikipedia

  • Greenland Sea — Greenland Sea …   Wikipedia

  • Transport in present-day nations and states — Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. It is an important factor for every country, in order to maintain a strong economy, for military defense, and for access to and between a country s people …   Wikipedia

  • Transport au groenland — Le système de transport au Groenland est très inhabituel car il ne compte ni voies ferrées ni cours d eau, et presque aucune route. Il y a au total 150 km de routes dans le pays entier ; 60 km de ces routes sont en dur. Il n y a que deux… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Greenland — Greenlander, n. Greenlandish, adj. /green leuhnd, land /, n. a self governing island belonging to Denmark, located NE of North America: the largest island in the world. 55,558; ab. 844,000 sq. mi. (2,186,000 sq. km); over 700,000 sq. mi.… …   Universalium

  • Greenland — <p></p> <p></p> Introduction ::Greenland <p></p> Background: <p></p> Greenland, the world s largest island, is about 81% ice capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland;… …   The World Factbook

  • Greenland National Museum — The Greenland National Museum (Kalaallisut: Nunatta katersugaasivia allagaateqarfialu) is located in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. It was one of the first museums established in Greenland, inaugurated in the mid 1960s.[1] The museum is… …   Wikipedia

  • Transport au Groenland — Carte de Groenland Le système de transport au Groenland est très inhabituel car il ne compte ni voies ferrées ni cours d eau, et presque aucune route. Il y a au total 150 km de routes dans le pays entier ; 60 km de ces routes sont… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Transport in Chile — An enlargeable relief map of Chile with major roads and rail lines depicted. Transport in Chile is mostly by road. The south of the country is not connected to central Chile by road, except through Argentina, and water transport also plays a part …   Wikipedia

  • Transport in Denmark — The Great Belt Fixed Link connecting the islands of Zealand and Funen across the Great Belt was opened in 1997 Transport in Denmark is developed and modern. The motorway network now covers 1,111 km[1] while the railway network totals 2,667 km of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”