Nanortalik - General Info

Description:

This harbour is only open from August to December.

Nanortalik is located on a peninsula on the shores of Labrador Sea, roughly 100 kms (62 miles) north of Uummannarsuaq, the southern tip of Greenland.

Because of its location, this area was one of the first parts of Greenland settled, both by Inuit and by the Norse. Nanortalik was founded in 1770. In 1797, a permanent trading depot was set up in Nanortalik by traders from Julianehåb. Due to poor harbor facilities, the town moved in 1830 to a different location where it remains today. The only remains of the old town are the scattered ruins of Sissarissoq.

Nanortalik is the last substantial town on the way south along Greenland’s west coast before reaching the fiords and channels of the Prins Christian Sund area directly north of Cape Farewell (Kap Farvel). The coastal waters between Qarqotoq and Nanortalik can be thick with large icebergs and bergy bits with enough current to move them rapidly. Vigilance is required given the intermittent thick fog.

Position:  

60° 08.15'N, 45° 14.56'W (harbor entrance)