{"id":63348,"date":"2026-01-06T03:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=63348"},"modified":"2026-01-20T04:27:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T10:27:49","slug":"dreamtime-the-greenland-leg-kangerlussuaq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=63348","title":{"rendered":"Dreamtime \/ The Greenland Leg (Kangerlussuaq)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Circumnavigation series<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Next in the series<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today Elder G<\/strong> and I<\/strong> continue our 16,000 mile Cessna Citation journey from Edmonton to Perth, stopping to refuel in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iqaluit \u2192 Kangerlussuaq (SFJ)<\/strong>: ~740 miles<\/strong>
Cumulative Miles\/Kilometers: 2,080 \/ 3,347<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kangerlussuaq, Greenland<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Kangerlussuaq <\/strong>(lit.\u2009’Big Fjord’; Danish: S\u00f8ndre Str\u00f8mfjord) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. The town and airport were built as a U.S. base during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and then Sondrestrom Air Base, but transitioned to a Greenlandic settlement in 1992. Kangerlussuaq Airport was Greenland’s primary air transport hub until the rebuilt and expanded Nuuk Airport opened in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland’s most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen<\/strong>, caribou<\/strong>, and gyrfalcons<\/strong>. The settlement’s economy and population of 399 is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry. It is the only town in Greenland which is not located on the proper ocean, being situated at the end of a 160 km long fjord, although it still has a coastline on the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Residential houses East of Kangerlussuaq Airport
By Quintin Soloviev – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=120440857<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Midnight sun under Sugarloaf, Kangerlussuaq
By Algkalv (talk) – Own work, Public Domain, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=5783534<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A panorama of Kangerlussuaq taken from Black Ridge, 2013
By Tog000 – Got to the mountain, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=25921699<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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Kangerlussuaq Airport (SJF)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Kangerlussuaq Airport<\/strong> (Greenlandic: Mittarfik Kangerlussuaq, Danish: Kangerlussuaq Lufthavn, formerly S\u00f8ndre Str\u00f8mfjord Lufthavn in Danish) (IATA: SFJ, ICAO: BGSF) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It was originally built as Sondrestrom Air Base (Bluie West-8) in 1941 and began to serve a civilian role in the 1950s which continued after the closure of the base in 1992. Alongside Nuuk Airport and Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only three civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large aircraft. It is still used for NATO and Danish Defence purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kangerlussuaq Airport in summer 2024
By Quintin Soloviev – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=156875965<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The airport in 1974
By Miranda.Kopetzky – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=55039614<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kangerlussuaq Airport in 2024
By Quintin Soloviev – Own work, CC0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=165048626<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kangerlussuaq Airport was previously the international hub for Air Greenland. Most traffic transitioned to Nuuk Airport in November 2024, coinciding with the opening of its new terminal and lengthened runway.<\/p>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Semi-Sequitur: Russell Glacier<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Russell Glacier<\/strong> (Danish: Russells Gletscher) is a glacier in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It flows from the Greenland ice sheet (Greenlandic: Sermersuaq) in the western direction. The front of the glacier is located 25 km (16 mi) east of Kangerlussuaq. It is active, advancing 25 m (82 ft) every year, and, due to easy access from Kangerlussuaq, it remains a popular place for tourists to visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russell Glacier, flowing down from Sermersuaq. Visible is the fresh meltwater outflow and remains of berg bombardment.
By Algkalv (talk) – Own work, Public Domain, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=5605853<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Methane cycling below the glacier<\/strong>
A 2014 study, based on subglacial drainage samples (dominated by Pseudomonadota), found evidence of methane cycling below the ice sheet of the Russell Glacier. During the study, the most widespread surface melt on record in the past 120 years in Greenland was observed on 12 July 2012; unfrozen water was present on almost the entire ice sheet surface (98.6%). The findings indicate that methanotrophs could serve as a biological methane sink in the subglacial ecosystem and, at least during the sample time, the region was a source of atmospheric methane. Scaled dissolved methane (CH4) flux during the four months of the summer melt season was estimated at 990\u2009Mg CH4. Because the Russell-Leverett Glacier is representative of similar Greenland outlet glaciers, the researchers concluded that the Greenland Ice Sheet may represent a significant global methane source.<\/p>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Caf\u00e9 SJF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, a look at our competition….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Restaurant MuskOx \/ Hotel Kangerlussuaq<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It looks like Caf\u00e9 SJF<\/strong>‘s main competition is Restaurant MuskOx<\/strong>, located in the Hotel Kangerlussuaq<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked Elder G<\/strong> if there really were muskox in Greenland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elder G:<\/strong>
Oh yes. Very real. Very shaggy. Very unimpressed by humans.
The musk ox is not a marketing mascot or a pub exaggeration. It is a walking relic of the Ice Age, and Kangerlussuaq is one of the best places on Earth to meet one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ed. note: musk ox – perhaps a topic for a future blott?]<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They buried the lead\u2026. and they left us hanging\u2026.<\/em>
“And if you want to know if a muskox really smells musky then Chris Packham has the answer \u2013 he gave one a really good sniff test on our behalf.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFrom the BBC<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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Hotel Kangerlussuaq is a hotel in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location
<\/strong>Located at Kangerlussuaq Airport, this three-star hotel has 70 rooms and is a notable location for conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hotel is located on the site of a reclaimed United States Air Force base, Sondrestrom Air Base. It is the former base’s landing strip which serves as the town’s airport and the barracks have been converted to accommodation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By Grete Howard – Originally uploaded to Flickr, CC BY 3.0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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By Grete Howard – Originally uploaded to Flickr, CC BY 3.0<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The menu photos are from the Hotel Kangerlussuaq Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Facebook<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ukiup naanerani brunch.
Sidste brunch i \u00e5r.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We were a bit confused by the language, but Elder G cleared it up. Hat’s off to Greenland for respecting the local languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elder G:<\/strong>
Ah, a fine Arctic riddle served before noon.
That line is wearing two linguistic parkas at once<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The languages<\/h5>\n\n\n\n