Coordinates: 70°55′05″N 51°57′00″W / 70.91806°N 51.95000°W / 70.91806; -51.95000

Appat Island

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Appat
File:Sketchmap-greenland-appat-island.svg
Location of Appat Island
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Geography
LocationUummannaq Fjord
CoordinatesLua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Area180 km2 (69 sq mi)
Length23 km (14.3 mi)
Width11 km (6.8 mi)
Highest elevation1,685 m (5528 ft)
Highest pointAppat Qaqaa
Administration
Greenland
MunicipalityAvannaata
Demographics
Population0 ( 2000 )

Appat Island (old spelling: Agpat) is an uninhabited[1] island in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. At 211 km2 (81.5 mi2),[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.

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

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File:Appat-salliarusiarsuup-qaqarsua.jpg
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]

File:Appat-from-ukkusissat.jpg
Appat Island (left) from the north
File:Appat-southern-wall.jpg
The southern shore of the island mostly consists of a series of precipitous walls

Promontories

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Name Direction Latitude N Longitude W
Naakaleqaoq Western Cape 70°53′45″ 52°10′55″
Pania Northern Cape 70°58′51″ 52°02′35″
Uiffaq Eastern Cape 70°52′32″ 51°34′17″
Kangimut Sammissoq Southern Cape 70°50′25″ 51°40′50″

Mining

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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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ a b Norwegian University of Science and Technology Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
  3. ^ GoogleEarth
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ kanukoka.gl Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Uummannaq Tourist Service[permanent dead link]
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  • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
  • Volcanic development in the Nuussuaq Basin, West Greenland Archived 2013-09-20 at the Wayback Machine