Ilulissat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ilulissat [Jakobshavn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Old town and harbor of Ilulissat
Ilulissat Location in Greenland
First mention	16th century
City Status	16th century
Area
• City	11.25 km2 (4.34 sq mi)
• Metro	47.00 km2 (18.15 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2,010 m (6,590 ft)
Lowest elevation	1 m (3 ft)
Time zone	UTC-3 (WGT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (WGST)
Postal code	3952
Area code(s)	(+299) 94

Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland, located approximately 350 km (220 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,541 as of 2013, it is the third-largest city in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut. The city is home to almost as many sled-dogs.

In direct translation, Ilulissat is the Kalaallisut word for "Icebergs". The nearby Ilulissat Icefjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has made Ilulissat the most popular tourist destination in Greenland. Tourism is now the town's principal industry. The city neighbours the Ilulissat Icefjord, where there are enormous icebergs from the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. These white giants are a source of astonishment for both residents and visitors, when the gaze drifts to the wide Disco Bay and when you walk close to the fjord.

History

Ilulissat

Inuit villages have been in the area of the ice fjord for at least three thousand years. The abandoned settlement of Sermermiut two kilometers south of the modern town of Ilulissat was once amongst the largest settlements in Greenland, with around 250 residents. The modern town was founded in 1741 by a missionary and a trader of fur, who had built a trading lodge in the area.

Ilulissat ice fjord

The Ilulissat fjord goes west 40 kilometers from the Greenland icecap to Disko Bay, close to Ilulissat town. At its eastern end is the Jakobshavn Isbrae 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 tons of icebergs breaking off and leaving the fjord every year. On breaking up the icebergs come out into the open sea and at first, they travel north with ocean currents. Soon, they start turning south and they go into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ilulissat Icefjord was made a United Nations World Heritage Site in 2004.

Transportation

Air Greenland has air services to Ilulissat.

Other pages

• List of towns in Greenland

Images for kids

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  The Lutheran church, photographed in 1869

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  Church and doctor's residence of the town Jakobshavn (1900)

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  Ilulissat harbor

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  Cruise ships in the fjord front of Ilulissat

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  Drank nettle for boiling blubber in Ilulissat, Greenland

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  Knud Rasmussen's birthplace in Ilulissat, Greenland; Knud Rasmussen's Museum

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  Kayaking in Ilulissat

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  Dog sled sign in Ilulissat

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  Cruise ship at Ilulissat port

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  Ilulissat, old part of the city with icebergs from the Ilulissat Icefjord in the background

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  Sailing in Ilulissat Icefjord

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  The football field

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  Ilulissat welcome sign

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  Ilulissat Airport from the south.

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  Blue iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord

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  View of Ilulissat city from the sea

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  Ilulissat under snow

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  Ilulissat Church

See also

In Spanish: Ilulissat para niños