Northeast Greenland National Park
National park in Greenland
- 3 min read
- 4 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Great circle, Meridian (geography) and Man and the Biosphere Programme
Geography
The park shares borders, largely laid out as straight lines, with the Sermersooq municipality in the south and with the Avannaata municipality in the west, partly along the 45° West meridian on the ice cap. The large interior of the park is part of the Greenland Ice Sheet, but there are also large ice-free areas along the coast and on Peary Land in the north. The park includes the King Frederick VIII Land and King Christian X Land geographical areas.
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History
Originally established on 22 May 1974 from the northern, practically uninhabited part of the former Ittoqqortoormiit Municipality in Tunu (East Greenland), in 1988, the park was expanded by another 272,000 km2 (105,000 mi2) to its present size, adding the northeastern part of the former county of Avannaa (North Greenland). In January 1977, it was designated an international biosphere reserve. The park is overseen by the Greenland Department of Environment and Nature. The historical research camps on the ice sheet—Eismitte and North Ice—fall within the boundaries of the present-day park.
Population
The park has no permanent human population, although 400 sites see occasional summertime use. In 1986, the population of the park was 40, living at Mestersvig. These 40 were involved in cleanup and closeout operations at mining exploration sites and soon left. Since then, censuses have recorded zero permanent human population. In 2008, only 31 people and about 110 dogs were present over winter in North East Greenland, distributed among the following stations (all on the coast, except Summit Camp):
- Daneborg (12) headquarters of the Sirius Patrol, the park policing agency
- Danmarkshavn (8) civilian weather station
- Station Nord (5) military base
- Mestersvig (2) military outpost with 1,800 m (5,900 ft) gravel runway
- Zackenberg (0) summer-only research station
- Summit Camp (4) research station on the Greenland Ice Sheet
During summer, scientists add to these numbers. The research station Zackenberg Ecological Research Operations (ZERO; located at 74°28′11″N 20°34′15″W / 74.469725°N 20.570847°W) can cater for over 20 scientists and station personnel.
Fauna
An estimated 5,000 to 15,000 musk oxen, as well as numerous polar bears and walrus, can be found near the coastal regions of the park. In 1993, this was estimated to be 40% of the world population of musk oxen. Other mammals include Arctic fox, stoat, collared lemming, Arctic hare and a small but important population of Greenland wolf. Other marine mammals include ringed seal, bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal as well as narwhal and beluga whale.
Species of birds which breed in the park include great northern diver, barnacle goose, pink-footed goose, common eider, king eider, gyrfalcon, snowy owl, sanderling, ptarmigan and raven.