Appat Island

Appat Island (old spelling: Agpat) is an uninhabited[1] island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. At 211 km2 (81.5 sq mi),[1] it is one of the larger islands in the Uummannaq Fjord system, located in its north-central part.[2] It is the site of the former settlements of Ritenbenck and Qaqortuatsiaq.

For the island in North Star Bay, see Saunders Island, Greenland.
Appat
Location of Appat Island
Appat
Geography
LocationUummannaq Fjord
Coordinates70°55′05″N 51°57′00″W
Area211 km2 (81 sq mi)
Length23 km (14.3 mi)
Width11 km (6.8 mi)
Highest elevation1,685 m (5528 ft)
Highest pointAppat Qaqaa
Administration
Greenland
MunicipalityQaasuitsup
Demographics
Population0

Air Greenland helicopters approach Ukkusissat Heliport on the way from Uummannaq Heliport alongside the southern and western wall of Appat, to then pass above the narrow Appat Ikerat strait between Appat and a smaller, mountainous Salleq Island.

Geography
Aerial view of Salliarusiarsuup Qaqarsua, at 1,516 m (4,973.8 ft) the fourth-highest mountain on the island.[2]

Appat Island is separated from Uummannaq Island and Salliaruseq Island in the south by the central arm of the Uummannaq Fjord; from the Salleq Island in the west by the Appat Ikerat strait; from the Ukkusissat Peninsula in the north and northeast by the Torsukattak Strait. A small archipelago of low-lying skerries lies directly to the southeast of the island, with a small settlement of Saattut.[2]

It is very mountainous, with precipitous walls falling from the glaciated summit plateau in all directions. The plateau (and the island itself) is bisected by the Naqellorssuaq valley. The highest point on the island is Appat Qaqaa (1,685.9 m (5,531.2 ft)),[3] a summit in the western part of the glaciated summit plateau. The coastline is undeveloped, apart from the Umiasuqasuup Ilua fjord at the southeastern end.[2]

Appat Island (left) from the north
The southern shore of the island mostly consists of a series of precipitous walls

Promontories
NameDirectionLatitude NLongitude W
NaakaleqaoqWestern Cape70°53′45″52°10′55″
PaniaNorthern Cape70°58′51″52°02′35″
UiffaqEastern Cape70°52′32″51°34′17″
Kangimut SammissoqSouthern Cape70°50′25″51°40′50″

Mining

Qaqortuatsiaq, located on the northern coast of Appat near the shore of the Torsukattak Strait, is a former marble quarry,[4] now abandoned.[5] Mining activities in the area are likely to resume in the future,[6] providing an economic lifeline to the communities of the Uummannaq region, keeping the relatively new Qaarsut Airport open.[6]

Access

The island can be reached via individually chartered fishing boats from Saattut, the settlement on a skerry off the southeastern cape, or from Ukkusissat to the northwest. Package tourists visit the 'desert' on the cape as part of an organized tour from Uummannaq.[7] Movement within the interior of Appat is restricted to mountaineering.

See also

References
  1. Norwegian University of Science and Technology Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
  3. GoogleEarth
  4. Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 181: Greenland and Iceland (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 58-59.
  5. kanukoka.gl Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Lufthavne bliver ikke lukket". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  7. Uummannaq Tourist Service
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