Ilulissat Icefjord

Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord is the sea mouth of Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea.

Ilulissat Icefjord (40.240 ha) is located on the west coast of Greenland, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle,

Sermeq Kujalleq is one of the fastest (19 m per day) and most active glaciers in the world. Its annual calving of over 35 cubic kilometres of ice is 10% of the production of all Greenland calf ice, and more than any other glacier outside Antarctica. Studied for over 250 years, it has helped to develop our understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology.

Ilulissat offers both scientists and visitors easy access to closely view the calving glacier front as it cascades down from the ice sheet and into the ice-choked fjord. The wild and highly scenic combination of rock, ice and sea, along with the dramatic sounds produced by the moving ice, combine to present a memorable natural spectacle.

Ilulissat Icefjord was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004.