Ilulissat

Infobox Settlement
name = Ilulissat
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map_caption = Location of the Ilulissat municipality in Greenland


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pushpin_map_caption =Location within Greenland
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
subdivision_type1 = Province
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subdivision_type2 = Municipality
subdivision_name2 = Ilulissat
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area_total_km2 = 47000
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population_as_of = 2005
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population_total =4533
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latd=71|latm=14|lats= |latNS=N
longd=53 |longm=34|longs= |longEW=W
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Ilulissat ( _da. Jakobshavn) is the third largest settlement in Greenland with a population of 4,453, and also the seat of the municipality of Ilulissat (Ilulissat Kommuniat) which covers an area of 47,000 km². The town is located at coord|69|13|N|51|06|W, about halfway up the country's west coast, and about 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

In direct translation Ilulissat is the Greenlandic word for "The Icebergs". Ilulissat is Greenland's most popular tourist destination on account of its proximity to the picturesque Ilulissat Icefjord - tourism is now the town's principal industry.

Ilulissat Icefjord

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Ilulissat Icefjord


State Party = DEN
Type = Natural
Criteria = vii, viii
ID = 1149
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 2004
Session = 28th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1149The Ilulissat Icefjord (Ilulissat Kangerlua) runs west 40 kilometres from the Greenland Ice Sheet to Disko Bay close to Ilulissat town. At its eastern end is the Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier, the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. The glacier flows at a rate of 20-35 metres per day, resulting in around 20 billion tonnes of icebergs calved off and passing out of the fjord every year. Icebergs breaking from the glacier are often so large (up to a kilometer in height) that they are too tall to float down the fjord and lie stuck on the bottom of its shallower areas, sometimes for years, until they are broken up by the force of the glacier and icebergs further up the fjord. On breaking up the icebergs emerge into the open sea and initially travel north with ocean currents before turning south and running into the Atlantic Ocean. Larger icebergs typically do not melt until they reach 40-45 degrees north (south of the United Kingdom and level with New York City).

The Ilulissat Icefjord was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

Transportation

Air Greenland operates air services to Ilulissat. Albatros Travel [ [http://www.go2greenland.com/ Go2Greenland - A cooperation between Topas Adventure Travel, Albatros Travel and Greenland Travel ] ] also offers air services and cruises to Ilulissat.

ee also

Jakobshavn glacier

References

*"Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands", Lonely Planet, ISBN 0-86442-686-0

External links

* [http://www.ilulissat.gl/ Official homepage of the Municipality of Ilulissat] (In Danish and Greenlandic)
* [http://www.greenland.com/content/english/tourist/towns_regions/north_greenland/ilulissat Ilulissat tourist information site]
* [http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/jakobshavn.html NASA study: Fastest Glacier in Greenland Doubles Speed]
* [http://www.geus.dk/publications/boeger/ilulissat-uk.htm Ilulissat Icefjord] . Book edited by Ole Bennike, Naja Mikkelsen, Henrik Klinge Pedersen and Anker Weidick, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, 28th September, 2004, ISBN 87-7871-136-3

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