Continuing from my last post, there is a lot to explore in the area around Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.
The town is surrounded by breathtaking scenery, which is also dotted with interesting artifacts from WWII and the Cold War eras. Because of the cold, dry arctic air, most of these things are very well preserved, considering they are exposed to the elements year-round.
I cover a lot in this post, so I broke it down into two sections: the road west of town and the road east of town.
The points of interest towards the West are:
- Køkkenfjeldet
- The barrel-lined road
- Umiarsualivik (Kangerlussuaq Harbour)
- Kellyville/Tikilluarit and the Sondrestrom radar facility
- Mount Evans, Tarajornitsut, and the Arctic Circle Trail
The points of interest towards the East are:
- Greenland’s longest gravel road
- Sondie Arctic Golf Course
- Greenlandic trees
- The prohibited area
- Sugarloaf Mountain and the Beer Lakes
- Lockhead T-33 Wreckage
- An arctic desert
- The Russell Glacier
I hope you enjoy the read and the photos!
1. Køkkenfjeldet
Directly North of town (right beside the main road) is Køkkenfjeldet mountain. The steep slopes, smoothed by ice, shed giant rectangular blocks. You might recall from my last post that one of them is covered in a mural from a famous Greenlandic artist. It is possible to climb to the top of this mountain via a small path for some spectacular views of the town. The path is hidden under snow in the winter, but it’s easy to find in the summer.
Maybe it’s the geologist in me, but I noticed that the mountains here seem to be made of the same type of rock. I did a little bit of sleuthing and discovered that they are actually the same as the Canadian Shield (yes, like Gatineau Park for any Ottawans reading this!). This is some of the oldest exposed rock in the world; 4.28 billion years old, just 300 million years younger than Earth itself. It is a highly metamorphosed rock called gneiss, which is formed under high heat and pressure. Because of these intense conditions (as well as billions of years of erosion), it’s impossible to tell if these rocks were originally sedimentary or igneous in origin. So, while Greenland is politically European, it is geologically North American.
2. The barrel-lined road
West of town is a barrel-lined road that leads to the Kangerlussuaq Harbour and the Arctic Circle Trail. The Trail is a 165 km narrow trodden path between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut (the second largest city in Greenland). An optional extension from the ice cap makes the trail over 200 km long and can be completed in about a week and a half during the summer. I met an Alaskan on my trip who had skied the trail over about two weeks. He had some absolutely incredible stories about his trip!
3. Umiarsualivik (Kangerlussuaq Harbour)
The Harbour, Umiarsualivik, can be reached by driving through a narrow road between a few fuel tanks. I mentioned in my last post that there are around 445 of these tanks throughout Greenland. They provide diesel fuel storage for Greenlanders throughout the winter, as it is difficult to transport it due to the thick ice.
The harbour is surprisingly sparse. There is only an office, a quay, and a couple gas pumps. There is nothing for tourists, even though this is a hub for cruise ships in the summer.
The water depth is shallow nearshore, so ships must anchor a bit of a distance away. Cargo from container ships are offloaded into flat-bottomed barges to be brought to shore. Passengers from cruise ships are taken to the wharf in small crafts, before being whisked away to town. When not covered in snow, the surrounding rocks are covered in colourful graffiti displaying the names of visiting ships throughout the years.
In winter months, you won’t see any ships here. Ice up to a meter thick fills the area, cracking and splintering against the shoreline due to powerful tides underneath. Many of the larger sheets were taller than me. Sometimes, the sound of booming and cracking could be heard.
Even though no ships were passing through, the harbour isn’t completely abandoned: local hunters use the area to carve up their kills, particularly musk oxen. They bring back the meat and fur to a processor in town, leaving the discards behind on the ice. Musk oxen are smaller than you would expect: check out the size of leftover musk ox legs vs human boot prints!
This was also a good spot to look at animal tracks. You can see reindeer and arctic hare tracks pretty much anywhere, but there were quite a few prints from elusive arctic foxes on the snow here too.
4. Kellyville/Tikilluarit and the Sondrestrom radar facility
Continuing West on the main road, a large radar dish can be peaking through a valley. This is part of the Sondrestrom radar facility located in the tiny settlement of Kellyville, or Tikilluarit. Indicating the importance of scientific research in Kangerlussuaq, this ‘incoherent scatter’ radar was used for many years to study the ionosphere and the Northern Lights. The town was inhabited mostly by researchers until the facility closed down in 2018. Its future is still under discussion.
5. Mount Evans, Tarajornitsut, and the Arctic Circle Trail
Another point of interest is an abandoned U.S. Cold War building further down the road. There are a few of these buildings scattered throughout the area, in varying degrees of decay. This particular one is interesting because its windows are intact, and the interior is more or less unchanged from when it was last in operation.
I spent a few hours trying to research this particular building, even perusing blogs and research papers, but could not find out what exactly this building was used for. Most military buildings in the area were for one of three things:
- Meteorological research
- Communications & defence
- Airspace-related
When I first saw the “pressure” labels, I thought that this building might have been for meteorological research. But, I did find one document that mentioned an old facility known as Mount Evans in this area, so it is likely the pressure gauges for the building’s heating system. The giant concrete blocks are all that remains from a long-gone communication mast.
Mysterious building aside, this mountain has a spectacular view of Tarajornitsut — uninhabited tundra highland. In the distance, the Pingu mountain ridges can be seen. This is near the official starting point for the Arctic Circle Trail, and in the summer, it makes a great picnic spot (there’s even a picnic table at the top!).
This is the end of the road West of Kangerlussuaq, unless you are planning on traveling all the way to Sisimiut. They are currently building a new dirt road that will connect the two towns. For now, it is possible to hike there via the Arctic Circle Trail, or by plane.
6. Greenland’s longest gravel road
East of Kangerlussuaq is the famous road that leads up to the ice sheet. I have a separate post for the ice sheet, but there are some notable places to see on the way there!
The road was originally built for Volkswagen in 2000 so they could test their cars in extreme conditions. They abandoned it shortly afterwards and now that road is used for excursions to the ice sheet. This gravel road winds around the mountains along the Watson River, also known as Sandflugtdalen (Danish) or Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua (Greenlandic). Reindeer can often be spotted eating the vegetation along the side of the road.
7. Sondie Arctic Golf Course
At one point there is what looks like an outhouse on the side of the road. But — surprise! — it’s actually the Club House for the Sondie Arctic Golf Course, one of the most northerly golf courses in the world. It has 18 holes. Apparently, it’s not the greatest place to play, but it does give some serious bragging rights.
8. Greenlandic trees
Another little surprise are trees. There is a small patch of them outside of the golf course. They were part of an experiment to see what kinds of trees are able to grow in Greenland’s arctic climate. There are a few different test sites around the island, including the successful Greenland Arboretum in Narsarsuaq, South Greenland.
9. The Prohibited Area
In the distance, there’s a little cabin surrounded by three picturesque lakes. This is part of a “prohibited” area, a large circle marked with posts. The U.S. military had disposed of dangerous materials here, so the only passage is by staying on the road.
10. Sugarloaf Mountain and the Beer Lakes
By now, you might have noticed that many places in the area are named after other famous landmarks around the world. The most notable is Sugarloaf Mountain.
This lonely steep-sided mountain borrows its name from the famous peak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Back in the day, sugar was transported by ship in conical molds made of clay, similar to the shape of that mountain.
The one in Greenland offers beautiful views of the surrounding valley in the summer. It overlooks several small lakes known as the Beer Lakes; affectionately nicknamed by the American soldiers who stored their beers there while hiking on their days off.
Something particularly unique about these lakes is the presence of sea tomatoes. This is a local term for red gelatinous spheres of toxic cyanobacteria colonies. They are one of the few things that can survive the harsh conditions of arctic lakes and they have few predators, so they are particularly abundant here. Tomato-like in appearance, they can grow as big as softballs; a process that takes 25 years. During the summer, when the waters are clear, you can see thousands of them in the lakes. Occasionally, they wash up on the shores and dry out like the one in this photo.
11. Lockhead T-33 Wreckage
Slightly further East, on the left side of the road, wreckage from a plane crash can be spotted, strewn across the landscape. Back in 1968, three planes crashed during a whiteout. Luckily, all pilots ejected and were found safe. This wreckage is for one plane in particular, the Lockhead T-33. These planes were subsonic American jets, used for advanced training.
Because of the dry arctic conditions, the wreckage is spectacularly preserved. Even though the crash happened over 50 years ago, there is barely any rust and the debris has remained more-or-less the same for decades. It’s like visiting a museum.
12. An Arctic Desert
Further East is an arctic desert, with sandbanks and mudflats left by the Watson River. On windy summer days, the sediment, known as loess, is blown around into dunes and drifts. During the winter, this area is sometimes used by snowmobilers and people testing out off-road vehicles.
13. The Russell Glacier
From here, the road leads to its final destination: the Russell Glacier. Its mighty 60 m tall face can be seen from the road. Popular with tourists because of its easy access, the glacier is an impressive sight to behold. The whole area has been carved by the glacier over thousands of years.
There is so much to say about it that I dedicated a whole blog post to the glacier and the trek there. Check it out here!
