Greenland
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
697km²
Area
336km
Coastline
1,214m
Highest point
2,093
People
4°C
Warmest sea
August
1,368km
To the mainland
When to go to Ammassalik Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (4 °C) and coolest in April (-1 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Greenland
Ammassalik Island is an island in Greenland. It covers 697 km², with 336 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 1,214 m. About 2,093 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,368 km away.
Getting there
- Kulusuk Airport (KUS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 31 km in a straight line
- FerriesFerry Tasiilaq - Kulusuk, Ferry Tiniteqilaaq -, Boat to (on request), Ikkatteq - Sermilik Station (boat on demand)
- 1,368 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Ammassalik Island.
- 3viewpointsKong Oscar Havn
- 2ferry terminals
- 21named peaksAsingalip, Tasiilap Qinngivata Qaqqartivaa, Imertiip Qaqqartivaa and 18 more
- 6waterfallsQortortoq, Qorlortoq and 4 more
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesErdhaus
- 2waymarked walking routesAmmassalik Short Circuit, Ammassalik Long Circuit
- 3campsitesCampsite
- 3hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 2restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Ammassalik Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Ammassalik Island, each with its own numbers.
1lakeLakeyas
Largest lake
11.2km²
Qorlortoq Sø
according to Lakeyas
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Qorlortoq Sø11.2km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 320 m above the sea. 39 % of it is below 200 m.
- 13 %0–50 m
- 26 %50–200 m
- 38 %200–500 m
- 23 %500–1,000 m
- <1 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Tasiilaq1,985 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -4 | -4 | -4 | -2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | -1 | -2 |
| Night low (°C) | -7 | -8 | -8 | -5 | -2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | -1 | -4 | -5 |
| Sea (°C) | 0 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Rain (mm) | 179 | 158 | 146 | 142 | 105 | 98 | 77 | 85 | 164 | 138 | 163 | 189 |
| Wet days | 18 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 30 | 29 | 25 | 22 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 21 | 26 | 28 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.7 | −1.1 | −0.8 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.3 | −0.9 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −2.0 |
| 2021 | −1.5 | −1.1 | −0.7 | −0.6 | −0.8 | −1.7 | −1.7 | +0.9 | −0.7 | ±0.0 | −1.3 | −1.8 |
| 2022 | −1.4 | −1.1 | −0.6 | −0.6 | −0.9 | −1.7 | −1.9 | −1.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −0.2 | −1.6 |
| 2023 | −1.6 | −1.1 | −0.8 | −0.7 | −0.9 | −1.9 | −1.8 | +1.2 | +0.3 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −1.9 |
| 2024 | −1.7 | −1.2 | −0.8 | −0.7 | −1.1 | −2.2 | −3.7 | −2.1 | −0.5 | −1.0 | −2.0 | −1.4 |
| 2025 | −1.6 | −1.0 | −0.1 | −0.4 | −0.6 | +1.1 | +1.7 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.1 | −1.1 | −0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q3545847) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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