The Carey Islands (Danish: Carey Øer; Greenlandic: Kitsissut) are an island group off Baffin Bay, in Avannaata municipality, northwest Greenland. Located relatively far offshore the Carey Islands are the westernmost point of Greenland as a territory. The sea surrounding the islands is clogged by ice most of the year.

Carey Islands
Native name:
Kitsissut
View of Björling Island
Carey Islands is located in Greenland
Carey Islands
Carey Islands
Carey Islands (Greenland)
Geography
LocationBaffin Bay, Greenland
Coordinates76°40′00″N 72°30′00″W / 76.666667°N 72.5°W / 76.666667; -72.5
ArchipelagoCarey Islands
Total islands6
Major islandsNordvestø
Highest elevation300 m (1000 ft)
Administration
Greenland
MunicipalityAvannaata
Demographics
Populationuninhabited
Carey Islands is located in Thule, Greenland
Carey Islands
Location of the Carey Islands

Geography

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The archipelago consists of six desolate islands, a few small islets and a number of rocks awash.[1] It is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the west of Thule Air Base and 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the SW of Cape Parry.[2]

The nearest settlement is Moriusaq to the east on the coast of Greenland, abandoned since 2007.

Islands

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Main islands

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  • Nordvestø, Isbjørneø and Mellemø form a compact cluster at the NW end of the archipelago.
    • Nordvestø, the biggest island with a length of 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) and a width of nearly 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). This island's western landhead is the westernmost point of Greenland. Its highest point is 225 metres (738 ft).
    • Isbjørneø and Mellemø, lying close to the east and forming a natural harbour between them and Nordvestø.
  • Bordø and Björlingø, located further to the east; the latter has a 300 metres (980 ft) high peak and is named after Johan Alfred Björling.
  • Fireø, lying in the southern area of the group.

Islets

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  • Hollænderhatten and Tyreøjet are two small islets to the east of Fireø having a diameter of a few hundred metres. there are also numerous other islets and rocks, especially in the western sector of the archipelago.[3]

Climate

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Climate data for Kitsissut, Greenland (2009-2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 0.1
(32.2)
0.6
(33.1)
2.9
(37.2)
−0.1
(31.8)
8.9
(48.0)
10.5
(50.9)
13.1
(55.6)
10.4
(50.7)
8.0
(46.4)
2.4
(36.3)
1.6
(34.9)
−0.5
(31.1)
13.1
(55.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −14.7
(5.5)
−15.8
(3.6)
−16.4
(2.5)
−10.0
(14.0)
−2.8
(27.0)
2.2
(36.0)
6.2
(43.2)
5.0
(41.0)
0.6
(33.1)
−3.8
(25.2)
−9.1
(15.6)
−13.0
(8.6)
−6.0
(21.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −16.6
(2.1)
−17.7
(0.1)
−18.2
(−0.8)
−11.6
(11.1)
−4.0
(24.8)
0.7
(33.3)
4.4
(39.9)
3.7
(38.7)
−0.3
(31.5)
−5.0
(23.0)
−10.9
(12.4)
−14.8
(5.4)
−7.5
(18.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −18.4
(−1.1)
−19.4
(−2.9)
−20.1
(−4.2)
−13.4
(7.9)
−5.4
(22.3)
−0.7
(30.7)
2.8
(37.0)
2.3
(36.1)
−1.3
(29.7)
−6.2
(20.8)
−12.5
(9.5)
−16.6
(2.1)
−9.1
(15.6)
Record low °C (°F) −33.4
(−28.1)
−28.4
(−19.1)
−32.7
(−26.9)
−26.7
(−16.1)
−15.0
(5.0)
−6.0
(21.2)
−2.3
(27.9)
−2.4
(27.7)
−6.2
(20.8)
−15.6
(3.9)
−23.9
(−11.0)
−30.3
(−22.5)
−33.4
(−28.1)
Average relative humidity (%) 75.4 74.1 74.4 75.5 80.5 87.4 86.5 88.7 81.5 79.5 77.3 76.1 79.7
Source: DMI (humidity 2011-2020)[4]

Important Bird Area

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The island group has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of some 6,700 pairs of thick-billed murres, as well as other seabirds including glaucous gulls, razorbills, black guillemots and Atlantic puffins.[5]

History

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The islands had been inhabited by the Inuit in the past; remains of their dwellings were found by Clements Markham in August 1851.[6]

The Carey Islands' were named by the 1616 Bylot-Baffin Arctic expedition after Allwin Carey, one of the financiers of the venture.[7]

Swedish naturalists Alfred Björling and Evald Kallstenius stopped at the Carey Islands in 1892 during an expedition on schooner Ripple to pick up supplies at a cache there. The Ripple, however, was driven on shore and wrecked. The men attempted to sail a small sloop back to Etah, but were forced to return to the Carey Islands.[8]

According to letters left by members of the ill-fated expedition in a cairn on the islands, the remaining four men attempted to sail their open boat 80 miles to Ellesmere Island:

Forced by bad weather to linger on this island for a long time, I now set out on the tour to the Eskimos... on Ellesmere Island. As I hope that a whaler will visit the Carey Islands next summer to rescue me and my companions, I will try to reach the islands again before July 1. We are now five men, of which one is dying.[9]

In June 1893, the crew of the Scottish whaler Aurora spotted a wreck on the Carey Islands. They found the Ripple, a man's body buried under a pile of stones, and Björling's letters.[9] No trace of the other four men, or the small boat, was ever found.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Carey Øer". Mapcarta. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. ^ Carey Islands, Greenland
  3. ^ Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 181: Greenland and Iceland (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 70.
  4. ^ "Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 – Greenland" (PDF). Danish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "Carey Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  6. ^ Clements Robert Markham: Franklin’s footsteps. Chapman and Hall, London 1853, p. 115.
  7. ^ Thomas Rundall. Narratives of Voyages towards the North-west, in search of a Passage to Cathay and India, 1496 to 1631. The Hakluyt Society, London 1849, S. 141.
  8. ^ Mowat, Farley (1967). The Polar Passion: The Quest for the North Pole. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited.
  9. ^ a b Harper, Ken. (Oct 7, 2005) Nunatsiaq News: "Taissumani: A Day in Arctic History Oct. 12, 1892 - The Disappearance of Bjorling and Kallstenius"
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