Qeqertarsuaq (Herbert Island)

Qeqertarsuaq or Herbert Island is an island in Baffin Bay near Qaanaaq in the Avannaata municipality, NW Greenland.[1] The island has an area of 223 km2.

Herbert Island
Native name:
Qeqertarsuaq
Map
Map of Herbert Island
Herbert Island is located in Thule, Greenland
Herbert Island
Herbert Island
Location of Herbert Island in Greenland
Herbert Island is located in Greenland
Herbert Island
Herbert Island
Herbert Island (Greenland)
Geography
LocationBaffin Bay, Greenland
Coordinates77°25′52″N 70°41′47″W / 77.43111°N 70.69639°W / 77.43111; -70.69639
Area277 km2 (107 sq mi)
Area rank26th largest in Greenland
Highest elevation890 m (2920 ft)
Highest pointNalungiussaq
Administration
MunicipalityAvannaata
Demographics
Population0 (2023)
Pop. density0/km2 (0/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsnone

Qeqertarsuaq, meaning "Large Island", is the name of several other places in Greenland. It is also the name of an abandoned fishing village located near the eastern end of the island.[2]

Geography

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Herbert Island lies south of Cape Cleveland and is part of a small group formed by Northumberland Island, Hakluyt Island and Herbert Island. The latter is the easternmost of the group.[3] Aligned from east to west, the islands lie off the Inglefield Fjord, between the Murchison Sound to the north and the Hvalsund to the south.[4]

Herbert Island is located closest to the mouth of the Inglefield Fjord.

History

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An account of life on the island in the 1970s is given by Marie Herbert in her 1973 book The Snow People, after she lived for a year in the (now abandoned) village of Qeqertarsuaq with her husband and young daughter.

 
19th century map with Herbert Island, Whale Sound and Inglefield Gulf.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Herbert Island, Greenland
  2. ^ Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute, p. 88
  3. ^ 1:1,000,000 scale Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet B-8, 3rd edition
  4. ^ "Inglefield Bredning". Mapcarta. Retrieved 26 March 2019.