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About Ataa
Ataa Station is located about 65 km due north of Ilulissat on the eastern side of Arveprinsens Ejland ("Crown Prince's Island") in Ataa Sound. The coastline curves sharply here to the east-southeast giving way to a bay. Nearly all the houses here at Ataa face south - only one house, off by itself, faces the harbour inlet. High hills bracket the location to the east and west. The Station itself is on a low isthmus between Ataa Sound and a lake which is about 10 km long by 1 to 2 km wide. The lake stretches all the way to Torsukattak, dividing Arveprinsens Ejland into a higher part to the west and a lower part to the east. According to Dr. Engell, the lake is about 96 m deep in the middle. The outlet from this lake is a turbulent creek which runs across the isthmus, close to the eastern extent of the houses, into Ataa Sound. This creek supplies the Station with extraordinarily good tasting fresh water, summer and winter. Trout are found in the lake, but not in numbers of interest to local fishermen. Ataa has a good harbour for smaller vessels located a few hundred meters to the west of the houses. When weather permits, smaller boats can moor directly in front of the houses along a short stretch of sandy beach. Ataa Sound is generally iced over into June. As a rule, the ice is thick enough and strong enough to be passable, although there are several currents along the coast which thin the ice. In the vicinity of the Station, both to the east and the south, there are places where the currents can quickly create open water. Ataa Sound's narrow waters give rise to the formation of a feature known as putsinneq resulting from periods of mild weather and fresh snow falls. (Putsinneq refers to the phenomenon whereby sea water finds its way through cracks in the ice, mixes with the covering snow and forms a porridge-like mass which is almost impassible until it is frozen again.) In the summer, there are footpaths to the settlements of Arsivik and Ritenbenk/Appat. On arrival at one of these harbours, one signals the boat either by gunshot or flare. In the winter, there are sled routes southwards via Ataa Sound; westwards overland to Ritenbenk/Appat entailing a climb of 600 meters through a steep-sided ravine about 4 km south of the Station; northwards across the large lake to Torsukatta and on; eastwards, either over sea-ice or lake-ice, to Arsivik. For the occasions when Ataa Sound does not freeze over, there is a sled route, partly over land, to Ilulissat via Eqe, the inner part of Kangerluaarsussuaq Fiord, Ilorleq, Qilersuit and finally over notoriously difficult Paakitsoq Land. In 1915, the population was 59, all Greenlanders. (In 1905 the population was 73 and in 1900 it was 91, including Arsivik.) Of the 34 men, 9 were married, 4 were single and 21 were below the age of 12. Of the 25 women, 1 was a widow, 6 were single and 9 were under 12. At the Station was a Factor (the Station Manager, usually a Dane), a Catechist and a midwife. The Station boasted 9 hunters. Fishing was mostly undertaken as a supplement to hunting. The business and trading skills of the people at the Station are currently improving. This follows a period of poorly developed skills as a result of an unenergetic Factor and bad seal migration as a result of the establishment of the settlement at Qilersuit. The main occupation of the people at the Station is seal hunting. Secondary occupations include fishing for shark, cod and ammassaat (caplin) and the catch of various sea birds and ptarmigan (arctic grouse). The local fox hunt is also the best within the Ilulissat district. Nearly everyone lives in tents during most of the summer. During June, the camp locations are at Marraq, about 4 km northeast of Ataa and on Illuluarssuit Island. These camps serve as the base for ammassaat fishing and the hunting of some harp seals and beluga whales. The meat from the catches is dried at the summer camps. As late as October there were tent camps in Kangerluaarsussuaq, where there were, at that time, usually many harp seals. In winter, the main activity is catching fiord seals with nets and fishing. In the spring, the main activity is uuttoq hunting (uuttoq means a seal sleeping on the ice). Uuttoq hunting in Ataa Sound can be particularly profitable. There is easy access to abundant firewood within the immedian the hillsides west of the large lake. Peat is collected during the summer and dried for winter use. During the spring and summer, grey willow is used as fuel. There are 6 Greenlandic houses, all of Type II with iron stoves. These houses are well maintained. Their inventory is of the usual standard for the district. There are also three tents, all of Type VI. Ataa, together with Arsivik, form a Kommune (municipality) within the District Kommune of Ilulissat. However, contrary to the Colonial District's other kommunes, it is administered under the jurisdiction of the 6th Provincial Council Ward. Ecclesiastically, the Station belongs to the Ilulissat Parish where there is a Catechist trained as a priest. Trade is managed by the Station's Factor. In 1915, production amounted to 137 barrels of seal blubber, 42 barrels of shark liver, 16 fox skins (5 blue and 11 white), 70 seal skins, 8.25 kg of Narwal tusks and 4.5 kg of bird feathers. In total, the value of sales was 1756.50 kroner. Only the Factor maintained a bank account. A midwife is employed by the Station and supplied with housing. Publically owned buildings at the Station consist of the school, the Factor's residence, a shop and a storehouse for seal blubber. The school, built in 1915, measures 4 m by 4 m and is of timber framing with peat walls, a high roof and a xxx with stair access. It is often used for church services. The Factor's residence, built in 1916, is of timber frame with double wooden floors. It has two rooms plus a kitchen. The previous residence (built in 1857, Greenlandic house Type III) is used for storage. The shop with its provisions store, built in 1907, is of timber frame with wooden floors, a low, tar-paper roof and measures 6.33 m long by 5.33 m wide. It is painted red. The seal blubber storehouse, built in 1852, is of peat and stone with a wooden roof and is in fragile condition. J.M. Kroug Ataa's History The trading station's Greenlandic name, Ataa, means "its lower part" (referring to the hill crest), describing the geographic setting of the Station. A previous local name had been Atanee, meaning "at the lower part". As far as is known, the location was not inhabited in earlier times. Ataa was established, on an experimental basis, in 1852. This occurred following the closure of a settlement on Illuluaarsuit Island, 18 km away, in about 1830. The Illuluaarsuit Island settlement had been a base for hunting with nets and for trading. As a consequence of this settlement's closure, part of its population and the population from the surrounding area moved to Ilulissat. Ataa was established partly to attract people back to the area again. A storehouse for blubber and a Greenlandic house as residence for the Danish Factor were built. For some years, the population at the Station itself consisted only of the Factor and his Greenlandic family (about 10 persons). Even after others moved to the Station from the surrounding area and from Ilulissat, the Factor continued to be the most prominent resident and leader of the Station. Production increased markedly and a new Factor's residence, with a shop in the attic, was built in 1857. The Station became permanent. About 7 km north of Ataa, on the left bank of the large lake, is a quarry that had been very important in earlier times. This quarry supplied not only the local population, but the entire district, with stone suitable for lamps, cooking vessels and the like. The Station's first Factor, Niels Christian Gundel (born September 21, 1818, died March 25, 1891) is buried in Ataa's Cemetery. He led the Station for 39 years, was married four times and had 19 children. He founded a substantial and prosperous economic community. H. Ostermann
Ataa Sound Ataa Sound (Ikerasak) runs first in a northerly direction for about 18 km between the mainland and Arveprinsens Ejland. Then it bends to the north-northeast for about 10 km after which it opens into a wide, nameless basin. The Sound's width varies from 1 to 3 km. At latitude 69°35' N it merges with Kangerluaarsussuaq Fiord. Water depths in the Sound are well known following measurements made by M.C. Engell. In the southern part, water depths reach 400 to 500 m, while in the northern part depths only reach 200 to 300 m. Approaching the basin, depths again reach 400 m. The southern coastline of Arveprinsens Ejland is fairly straight without any bays or protruding points. The coast line is fairly high and steep so that there are only a few places where one can travel down to the shore. One of these places is about 3 km south of Ataa Station where the most commonly used sled track "over the Ataa hills" to Ritenbenk/Appat begins. The other place is about 7 km farther south in a creek valley called Aqqartarfik, meaning "the place where one drives down". The other part of the coast, from Ataa northwards, is much lower and easier to travers, but has no bays either. The mainland coastline between Pakitsoq and Kangerluaarsussuaq offers more variation: there are bays and inlets that can be used to give harbour, and the headlands offer protection from the elements. The region between these two fiords, Qitermiut Land, encompasses about 150 square km in an almost equilateral triangle, which, to the south, peaks at over 400 m. Out towards Ataa Sound is the old settlement of Qitermiut. Kangerluaarsussuaq is a fiord approximately 20 km long and 3 km wide. It runs southeast and ends in a 4 km long valley which leads to Paakitsoq's northern arm. This valley is well suited as a sled track when the ice in Ataa Sound is impassable due to the effects of ocean currents. There is also a sled track on land along the northern shore to the inner part of the basin near Eqe. The fiord's coastline is very steep and barren. These bare hills give a light grey reflection which can be seen from far away. This colour comen part, especially in the inner fiord, because the hills are sprinkled with a fine ice granule. Nothing is known about the fiord's water depth. In the middle of the fiord lies a 2.5 km long narrow, low island called Qeqertaq. The land between Kangerluaarsussuaq Fiord and the basin is rectangular in shape with an area of about 450 square km. The land is high and there are two promontories, Qaarsorsuag and Oqaatsunnguit, towards Ataa Sound. There are also highly populated rookeries found here. A stream draining a small lake tumbles down the steep coastal cliff in a beautiful waterfall. The northern coast towards the basin lies lower and is easier to access. Between Arveprinsens Ejland's northern extent and the mainland, the basin meets Ataa Sound to the southwest. To the north, two channels, one on each side of Qeqertakassak Island, lead into Torsukattak ice-fiord. Within the basin is a triangular island with an area of about 16 square km and a peak of over 400 m. On the south side of this island is the now abandoned settlement of Illuluaarsuit. Four small islands and many islets lie between the triangular island and Qeqertarsuaq, of which the northernmost is called Illutalik (meaning "the one with houses"). Here are numerous well preserved building sites, graves and naangissut of very old dates. The boundary of the Trading District lies between these small islands. Two tongues from the inland ice cap flow into the basin and then to the open sea. They are separated by a nunataq (land surrounded by glacier) about 6 km long by 3 km wide. This nunataq has a high coastline. There is a small lake, called Ilulialik, on the slope towards the inland ice into which a small tongue from the inland ice calves icebergs. Due to the strong currents, the ice in Ataa Sound is usually poor along the west side. This is why the sled trail is closer to the opposite side. Even there, it normally becomes necessary to drive up onto Qitermuuat Land in several places. Major currents occur near Ataa Station, both east and west of the Station. They also occur outside Kangerluaarsussuaq Fiord. The outlets from the basin, on both sides of Torsukattak Fiord, are only occasionally passable by sled. On the other hand, the ice in the southern part of the basin usually forms early and often stays into June. Occasionally the trail from Ataa to Ritenbenk/Appat and northern and western destinations must make a bend up towards Arsivik and in over land to the bottom of the fiord after it crosses Arveprinsens Ejland. When possible, one takes the trail along the east coast and uses all the ice flows one can. Because of the extremely steep and rocky terrain, the sled trail, Qilersuit - Ilulissat, is perhaps the most difficult of all the regular mail and general travel routes in North Greenland. Occasionally it is possible to travel from Ataa via Arsivik, Ulussat and Torsukattak straight to Qeqertaq in the Ritenbenk/Appat District. In Kangerluaarsussuaq and Ilorteq Fiords, the ice often forms before Christmas and, as a rule, remains undisturbed long into June.
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Ilulissat Tourist Nature - P.O. Box 169 - 3952 Ilulissat (Greenland) |
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Tel. +299 944420 - Fax +299 944624 - Mobile +299 545420 - email: touna@greennet.gl |
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