Kangerlussuaq
Søndre Strømfjord | |
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![]() Residential houses East of Kangerlussuaq Airport | |
Coordinates: 67°00′31″N 50°41′21″W / 67.00861°N 50.68917°W | |
State | ![]() |
Constituent country | ![]() |
Municipality | ![]() |
Founded | 1941 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Albrecht Kreutzmann |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 508[1] |
Time zone | UTC−02:00 (Western Greenland Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−01:00 (Western Greenland Summer Time) |
Postal code | 3910 |
Kangerlussuaq (Greenlandic pronunciation: [kaˌŋɜˈɬːusːuɑq]; lit. 'Big Fjord'; Danish: Søndre Strømfjord) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality[3] located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It was Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport until the new airport opened at Nuuk on 28 November 2024. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and then Sondrestrom Air Base.
The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The settlement's economy and population of 508[1] 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.[4]