Prins Christian Sund, Greenland Photo Gallery
This morning started with Capn. Stig announcing that we were coming up to an interesting iceberg that he planned to circle. This is my first shot.
This is the next shot. See how the look of the iceberg changes as we move.
Now from another angle.
One more of the iceberg.
The entrance to our destination today, Prins Christian Sund. It looks like it is blocked, but this is actually huge and our ship will fit through one of the side openings.
The sund (sound) is a waterway in Southern Greenland. It is around 60 miles long and it is narrow, sometimes only 1,600 ft wide.
This is the weather station that gives the conditions and whether it is safe to enter. It was founded by the US during World War II under the name Bluie East One. We were blessed with the most gorgeous day!
The water is so clear that you can see the iceberg above and below the water line. The aqua color is so stunning!
The ice absorbs longer wavelengths of colors, such as red and yellow. Colors of shorter wavelengths, like green and blue, reflect the light. This "leftover" blue-green light is what gives some icebergs their remarkable colors.
Brian enjoying the view of the icebergs along the sound.
The gorgeous day made these wonderful reflections possible.
Our first tidewater glacier-Tidewater glaciers, also called calving glaciers, are glaciers which extend out, and terminate into the water.
More glaciers-They are all on the north side of the sound.
The same glacier, but a slightly different angle.
Waterfalls were seen frequently from the melting of the glaciers.
Another beautiful tidewater glacier.
This was how I was dressed for the day when I spent time on the helipad.
This photo shows how huge the cliffs are on the sides. The ship ahead of us is not small. There is also what looks like a tiny sail boat in this photo.
The designs in this cliff side were amazing.
This was a very big glacier where we watched for calving. There were some little icebergs that broke off, but noting big.
In the same little inlet there was another glacier to the side. The ice chunks in the water have broken off of the glacier.
The boat in the water is a tender boat from our ship, which holds around 300 people. I hope that helps to show how huge this glacier is.
The cliffs were so rugged with waterfalls appearing all over the place.
The glacier up close.
Another glacier that used to be a tidewater glacier, but has receded. It's now called a hanging glacier. The Greenland ice sheet is the second biggest in the world (after Antarctica).
The cliffs on the south side were more jagged, because they didn't get rounded off by the glacier, which was on the other side.
Here comes a narrowing.
We're closer, so now you can see the sailboat.
More terrific icebergs.
Mountain majesty!
Another tidewater glacier-Glacier melt off water is milky in appearance from all the minerals in the water. You can see where the glacier water is meeting the water in the sound.
I enjoyed all the beauty of this sound so much!
The southern tip of Greenland is actually the Cape Farewell Archipelago which is separated from the mainland of Greenland by this arrow fjord, Prins Christian Sund.
One more glacier- Rocks scoured from surrounding valley walls create dark debris lines called lateral or medial moraines along the edges and down the center of glaciers. This is a good example of this.
Cruising through Prince Christian Sound, passengers only see one sign of human habitation against the stark landscape: the tiny Inuit village called Aappilattoq, which means “sea anemone” in the local Greenlandic Inuit language.
Aappilattoq sits perched at the edge of the water with towering mountains all around, making the village virtually inaccessible by land.
The cluster of colorful houses is home to around 100 people, rugged individuals who mostly fish and hunt the harsh terrain as they live isolated from the outside world (except for the occasional arrival of a boat or helicopter).
One more photo showing how tiny the village is compared to the rock cliffs around it.
We're coming close to the end of the sound and fog is starting to move in from the sea.
Another nice iceberg-Because of these we had to travel slowly through the sound. It took close to 8 hours if I remember right.
Another photo of the fog moving in and another ship.
More fog.
A nice iceberg.
It was just breath-taking.
The last waterfall of the day.