Wednesday 17 June 2009

Ittoqqortoormiit, 70°29′ N 21°58′ W




Ittoqqortoormiit ! The name alone is already a promise of a distant quest. The Danes called it Scoresbysund, same as the magnificent fjord where the town is located. (I posted about that in Ultima Thule, here). The inuit name Ittoqqortoormiit means "Place with Big House".

One of the youngest and most remote towns in Greenland, it was founded in 1925 by some 70 Inuit settlers at the request of the arctic explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen.
With just 550 citizens, surrounded by glaciers and sea ice, it is only accesible by helicopter (once a week) or by boat a few months a year.
A truly Thule of the East, facing Iceland and the Jan Mayen island.
School

Hotel

Sports Hall

Inuit child with sled

Ittoqqortoormiit is the most northerly permanent settlement in East Greenland. The region is known for its wildlife which includes polar bears, muskoxen, arctic foxes, seals, walruses, narwhals, shrimp and halibut. That provides hunting and fishing , the main activity for the local community.

Monday 15 June 2009

Polar bears at Point Barrow, Alaska

Point Barrow is the remote northernmost point of Alaska, a desert region (no rain, no land, no trees) facing the Arctic Ocean. Archaeological evidence dates human habitation by Inupiaq Eskimos in the area from about 500 AD. Its Inupiaq name is Ukpeagvik, meaning “Place Where Owls Are Hunted.”

Snow Owl


Local fauna also includes polar bears, which can be observed in large groups.

The following slide presentation from Slideshare is a collection of bear photos with some extra information about the area.