Greenland: An Infrared Look At Ilulissat Icefjord

 

I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about spending a significant amount time in Disko Bay, the most popular tourist destination in Greenland. By Greenlandic standards it is “crowded” both on land and on the water. Especially around Ilulissat, the main town, with tourists trying to get up close to Ilulissat Icefjord, one of the most active glaciers in the world.

From the water, the glacier makes its presence known by filling the bay with a variety icebergs ranging in size from large to massive with a few hidden growlers to make navigation even more interesting. The size of the icebergs only being controlled by the terminal moraine they have to cross before being released into the bay.

After catching up on of few hours of missed sleep once we arrived in port, we set off to see what draws people from around the world to come Ilulissat. The walk to the glacier took us along the main road through town past sled dogs chained for the summer, before becoming a pristine boardwalk with a bronze plate reminding us that we were about to enter a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Once on the lookout platform I could only think about getting closer to the memorizing glacier and ditched the smooth boards for the uneven granite. There was no question, popular tourist site or not, Ilulissat Icefjord is an incredible display of nature. But then again I should know better, Greenland does not do average.

You might have noticed that the pictures for this post are a little different. Before we set off for Greenland, I had a camera converted to infrared to settle my curiosity of how it would capture the Arctic Landscape. It has been a learning curve but so far Frances and I have been having a lot of fun with it. Either way Ilulissat Icefjord is stunning both in infrared and color.