Kulusuk: Difference between revisions

 

=== From prehistory until 15th century ===

The [[Saqqaq culture|Saqqaq people]] were the first to reach eastern Greenland, arriving from the north<ref name="easthistory">[http://eastgreenland.com/database.asp?lang=eng&num=201 eastgreenland.com] ''History of East Greenland''</ref> through what is now known as [[Peary Land]] and [[Independence Fjord]]. They were displaced by the [[Dorset culture]] around 3,000 years ago. The [[Thule people]] passed through the area in the 15th century,<ref name="easthistory"/> finding the southeastern coast uninhabited.

 

 

=== 20th century ===

The small Kulusuk Island wasn't permanently settled until the early 1900s, with the village founded only in 1909,<ref name="sooq"/><ref>[http://www.100kulusuk.net/indexuk.htm 100kulusuk.net] 100th anniversary exhibition</ref> celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sermitsiaq.gl/indland/article87535.ece |title=100 – KULUSUK – 100 |work=[[Sermitsiaq (newspaper)|Sermitsiaq]] |date=15 June 2009 |language=Danish |accessdate=17 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://sermitsiaq.gl/indland/article92692.ece |title=Kulusuks jubilæum åbnet med udstilling |work=Sermitsiaq |date=6 August 2009 |language=Danish |accessdate=17 May 2010}}</ref> The church in the village was constructed in 1908 by the crew of a Danish sailing vessel that ran aground on the nearby coast and constructed from the [[Lumber|timbers]] of the ship itself.<ref name="kirke">[http://iserit.greennet.gl/alfis/ greennet.gl] {{da icon}}</ref> A model of the ship still hangs above the [[Organ (music)|organ]] of the church, rebuilt and brought into its present state in 1922.<ref name="kirke"/>

 

 

In the 1930s the population reached 165 inhabitants,<ref name="east"/> the village surpassing the older Tasiilaq as the largest settlement in the region. As of 2013, Kulusuk is the third-largest settlement in the region, after Tasiilaq and [[Kuummiit]], and the fourth-largest on the eastern coast,<ref name="localpop"/> although the number of villagers dipped below 300 in the late 2000s.

== Language ==

{{Main article|Tunumiit language}}

 

== Facilities ==

Medical services are provided by one resident Danish nurse and one resident educated local helper. The school, which was rebuilt in 2005, has about 70 pupils with a high proportion of educated teachers. In 2009 the village received permission from the Sermersooq municipal authorities to convert the old [[Royal Greenland]] [[fish processing]] plant for school use.<ref name="knr">{{cite web |url=http://knr.gl/index.php?id=297&tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1249758440&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=47355&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=844&cHash=b8eff25196 |title=Spændende lejrskoleprojekt i Kulusuk |work=[[Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa]] |language=Danish |date=11 August 2009 |accessdate=17 May 2010}}</ref>

 

 

== Tourism ==

Unemployment is high and many of the villagers depend upon tourism to supplement the more traditional pursuits of hunting and fishing.<ref name="lp"/> The village is served by Hotel Kulusuk which was erected in 1999 and provides a base for tourists and hikers. Day trips organized by the hotel and [[Air Iceland]] focus on the traditional culture of eastern Greenland, including drum dance performances and [[Dog sled|dogsledding]].<ref name="east"/><ref>[http://www.airiceland.is/AirIceland/Destinations/Kulusuk/ airiceland.is]</ref>

 

 

== Transport ==

 

The village is served by [[Kulusuk Airport]], one of two international airports in eastern Greenland. It provides direct connections to Nuuk on the western coast, [[Reykjavík]] in [[Iceland]], and Tasiilaq on [[Ammassalik Island]], which links many other villages in the region through settlement helicopter flights.<ref>[http://airgreenland.com/ankomster__afgange/ Air Greenland, Departures and Arrivals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309004005/http://airgreenland.com/ankomster__afgange/ |date=2010-03-09 }}</ref>

 

In the winter, the inhabitants of the village use snowmobiles and traditional dogsleds as additional means of transport−families arriving at the airport are ferried to the settlement on both. Dogsleds are then left briefly untended, albeit accidental escapes amongst the dogs are rendered impossible through overturning the sled, and binding of the front paws of the dog pack leaders.

== Climate ==

As an outlying island in the small [[archipelago]] of islands in the Ammassalik region, Kulusuk Island is the most exposed to the persistent northeasterly winds from the [[Greenland Sea]]. Although the average winter temperatures are higher than in the more northerly settlements on the west coast of Greenland−often in single digits below zero−the ferocity of winds<ref>[http://www.lswilson.ca/dye4pics.htm DYE-4 station archives]</ref> brings the effective temperatures down by more than an order of magnitude. During a quarter or more January days the island experiences wind speeds between 8 and 10 on the [[Beaufort scale]], qualifying as fresh gales, strong gales, or storms.<ref>[http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/04361/2009/1/9/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA Weather Underground]</ref><ref>[http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/04361/2010/1/9/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA Weather Underground]</ref>

 

Wind speeds exceeding 100&nbsp;km/h occur throughout the year, often causing flight cancellations at the Kulusuk Airport. Neighboring Tasiilaq−where the main local weather station is located−holds the settlement windspeed record for Greenland: on 7 February 1970 the speed peaked at {{nowrap|54 m/s}} or {{nowrap|194 km/h.<ref>[http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/index/gronland/meteorologiske_ekstremer_i_gronland.htm Danish Meteorological Institute] {{da icon}}</ref>}}

 

[[Pack ice]] and small [[iceberg]]s pushed forth by the East Greenland Current ram against the northeastern coast, blocking the Ikaasaartik Sound and facilitating the freeze of the wider Torsuut Tunoq waterway.

Conversely, when the [[North American High|Greenland High]] pressure area from the [[Greenland ice sheet]] ({{lang-kl|Sermersuaq}}) moves towards the area in winter, Kulusuk can be as wind-free and sunny as the inner parts of the [[Uummannaq Fjord]] region known as the sunniest spot in Greenland.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Carroll|first=Etain|title=Greenland and the Arctic|publisher=Lonely Planet|pages=191|year=2005|isbn=1-74059-095-3}}</ref>

 

 

== References ==

{{reflist}}

 

{{Settlements in Greenland}}