Maniitsoq

Maniitsoq,[2][3][4] formerly Sukkertoppen,[5] is a town in Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,534 inhabitants as of 2020,[1] it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland.

Maniitsoq

Sukkertoppen
Maniitsoq in 1890
Maniitsoq
Location within Greenland
Coordinates: 65°25′00″N 52°54′00″W
State Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country Greenland
Municipality Qeqqata
Founded1782
Population
 (2020)
 • Total2,534[1]
Time zoneUTC-03
Postal code
3912
Websitemaniitsoq.gl

History

Archaeological finds indicate that the area has been settled for more than 4,000 years.

The modern town was founded as New or Nye-Sukkertoppen[6][7] in 1782 by Danish colonists relocating from the original Sukkertoppen, a trading post founded in 1755 at the site of present-day Kangaamiut.[8] In time, the original name was taken up again.

In the 19th century, the town served as a major trading post for the Royal Greenland Trading Department's trade in reindeer hides.[9]

Maniitsoq Municipality was a former municipality of Greenland. It is now part of Qeqqata Municipality.

Industry

There have been plans for an Alcoa aluminium smelting plant either at Maniitsoq or Sisimiut for an extended period, at least since 2008, without progressing to construction.[10] The plant would provide employment for 600–700 people,[11] or more than 1 percent of the population of Greenland. As it is a vital decision for the town, wide public consultations were carried out in 2008–2010[12][13][14] by both the town authorities and the Greenland Home Rule Government in order to address potential environmental and social concerns.[15][16]

Transport

Air
Main article: Maniitsoq Airport

Maniitsoq is served by Air Greenland with flights to Nuuk, Kangerlussuaq, and Sisimiut.[17]

Sea

Maniitsoq is a port of call for the Arctic Umiaq ferry.[18]

Population

With 2,534 inhabitants as of 2020, Maniitsoq has experienced a decline in population over a long period of time.[1] The town has lost almost 15% of its population relative to 1990 levels, and nearly 9% relative to 2000 levels.[1]

Migrants from the smaller settlements such as rapidly depopulating Kangaamiut choose to migrate to Sisimiut, the capital in Nuuk, and sometimes to Denmark, rather than Maniitsoq. Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut are the only settlement in the Qeqqata municipality exhibiting stable growth patterns over the last two decades.

Maniitsoq population dynamics, 1991-2010. Source: Statistics Greenland[1]

Notable people

Literature

Novel The Prophets of Eternal Fjord by Kim Leine is set in Sukkertoppen.

Maniitsoq Structure
Main article: Maniitsoq structure

The Maniitsoq structure is a proposed 3 billion year old (3 Ga) impact structure located in the Akia Terrane of the North Atlantic Craton,[19][20] centred about 55 km (34 mi) south-east of the town of Maniitsoq, Greenland, at 65°15′N 51°50′W. However, the Maniitsoq structure has not been widely recognised as an impact structure, and the proposal was criticised for not meeting established criteria for recognising impact craters.[20][21] Subsequent studies in the region have found no evidence for an impact structure, and a number of observations that directly contradict the earlier impact structure proposals.[22][23][24][25] The Maniitsoq structure is not recognised as an impact structure by the Earth Impact Database.[26]

Twin towns – sister cities

Maniitsoq is twinned with:

References
  1. "Population by Localities". Statistical Greenland.
  2. The pre-1973 spelling was Manîtsoq or Mannétsoĸ. The name means "Place of Rugged Terrain".
  3. Ross, James. Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage, and of a Residence in the Arctic Regions During the Years 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833. A.W. Webster, 1835.
  4. Air Greenland. "Maniitsoq Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine".
  5. The name is also spelled Zukkertoppen, Sukkertop, Zukkertop, and Zuckerhut. All of them mean "Sugartop" or "Sugarloaf" after the appearance of three nearby hills.
  6. Walker, J. & al. "British North America. Published under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge." Baldwin & Cradock (London), 1834.
  7. Colton, G.W. "Northern America. British, Russian & Danish Possessions In North America." J.H. Colton & Co. (New York), 1855.
  8. O'Carroll, Etain (2005). Greenland and the Arctic. Lonely Planet. pp. 155–156. ISBN 1-74059-095-3.
  9. Kane, Elisha Kent. Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition. 1856.
  10. Bennett, Mia (5 June 2017). "Why Greenland Is Tapping Foreign Labor to Fill Fish-Processing Jobs". News Deeply. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  11. "Aluminium smelting plant". Sisimiut Town, Official Website. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  12. "Alcoa holds town hall meeting in Sisimiut". Sermitsiaq. 15 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  13. "Where should Alcoa plant be located?". Sermitsiaq. 21 February 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  14. "Alcoa in Greenland". Alcoa. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  15. "Alcoa project can paralyse building sector". Sermitsiaq. 13 April 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  16. "Alcoa eller ej". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  17. "Booking system". Air Greenland. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  18. AUL, Timetable 2009
  19. Garde, Adam A.; McDonald, Iain; Dyck, Brendan; Keulen, Nynke (2012-07-01). "Searching for giant, ancient impact structures on Earth: The Mesoarchaean Maniitsoq structure, West Greenland". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 337–338: 197–210. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.04.026. ISSN 0012-821X.
  20. Reimold, Wolf U.; Gibson, Roger L.; Koeberl, Christian (2013-05-01). "Comment on "Searching for giant, ancient impact structures on Earth: The Mesoarchaean Maniitsoq structure, West Greenland" by Garde et al. [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 337–338 (2012) 197–210]". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 369–370: 333–335. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2013.04.014. ISSN 0012-821X.
  21. Reimold, Wolf Uwe; Ferrière, Ludovic; Deutsch, Alex; Koeberl, Christian (2014). "Impact controversies: Impact recognition criteria and related issues". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 49 (5): 723–731. doi:10.1111/maps.12284. ISSN 1945-5100.
  22. "Mesoarchean exhumation of the Akia terrane and a common Neoarchean tectonothermal history for West Greenland". Precambrian Research. 314: 129–144. 2018-09-01. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2018.06.004. ISSN 0301-9268.
  23. Gardiner, N. J.; Kirkland, C. L.; Hollis, J.; Szilas, K.; Steenfelt, A.; Yakymchuk, C.; Heide-Jørgensen, H. (2019-02-26). "Building Mesoarchaean crust upon Eoarchaean roots: the Akia Terrane, West Greenland". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 174 (3): 20. doi:10.1007/s00410-019-1554-x. ISSN 1432-0967.
  24. "Mesoarchean partial melting of mafic crust and tonalite production during high-T–low-P stagnant tectonism, Akia Terrane, West Greenland". Precambrian Research. 339: 105615. 2020-04-01. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105615. ISSN 0301-9268.
  25. Waterton, Pedro; Hyde, William R.; Tusch, Jonas; Hollis, Julie A.; Kirkland, Christopher L.; Kinney, Carson; Yakymchuk, Chris; Gardiner, Nicholas J.; Zakharov, David; Olierook, Hugo K. H.; Münker, Carsten (2020). "Geodynamic Implications of Synchronous Norite and TTG Formation in the 3 Ga Maniitsoq Norite Belt, West Greenland". Frontiers in Earth Science. 8. doi:10.3389/feart.2020.562062. ISSN 2296-6463.
  26. "Earth Impact Database". www.passc.net. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
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