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Pituffik
The tombolo known as Uummannaq
PituffikLocation within Greenland
Coordinates: 76°32′N 68°45′W / 76.533°N 68.750°W / 76.533; -68.750
State	Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country	Greenland
Municipality	Avannaata
Relocated	1953
Time zone	UTC-04

Pituffik is a former settlement in northern Greenland, located at the eastern end of Bylot Sound by a tombolo known as Uummannaq, near the current site of the American Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base. The former inhabitants were relocated to the present-day town of Qaanaaq. The relocation and the fallout from the 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash in the vicinity are a contentious issue in Greenland's relations with Denmark and the United States.

Exploration

Pituffik was a hunting village of the Greenlandic Inuit. The Qaanaaq region of northern Greenland in which it is located was inhabited for several thousand years, first settled 4,500 years ago by the Paleo-Eskimo peoples migrating from the Canadian Arctic.

The area was explored by Commander James Saunders of the Royal Navy while wintering on HMS North Star in 1849-50 after being trapped by the ice in the sound.

Military control

Forced relocation

In 1951 the United States was given permission to build Thule Air Base at the site of the settlement. Between 1952 and May 1953, all residents of Pituffik and nearby Dundas (Uummannaq) were forcibly relocated 130 km (81 mi) north to the new town of Qaanaaq, commonly known at the time as "New Qaanaaq" or "New Thule", where people were forced to live in tents from May 1953 until November of the same year, well into the polar winter, while the 27 new houses were constructed for them. The total cost of the relocation amounted to 8.65 million Danish krone (DKK), or 1.52 million US dollars, with more than half covered by the American side.

The airbase is not part of any civilian municipality of Greenland, but an enclave within Greenland, outside of its jurisdiction. Within Greenland the airbase location, and the airbase itself, continue to be referred to as Pituffik, in memory of the old settlement. Access to the site is restricted, with travellers bound for Thule Air Base required to apply for access permit from either Rigsombudsmanden in Nuuk (residents of Greenland), or the Danish Foreign Ministry (all others). Failure to present the permit during check-in results in denial of boarding. The same rules apply for transfers at Pituffik, including a stopover on the way from Qaanaaq to Savissivik, the southernmost settlement of northern Greenland, on the shore of Melville Bay.

Plutonium contamination

Radioactive plutonium from the 1968 bomber crash contaminated the nearby ancient hunting grounds, affecting the livelihoods of the region's inhabitants. There is evidence of hairless fur seals, and muskoxen with deformed hooves; the pollution remaining a contentious issue between Greenland, Denmark, and the United States.

Legal action over civilian relocations

While the protection of Greenland offered by the airbase is not disputed, the relocation of the 1950s remains a controversial issue in Greenland more than half a century later, with ongoing demands for land reclamation being proposed by Greenlandic politicians. The current Government of Greenland does not have influence over the continued existence of the airbase at the site, as foreign policy remains the prerogative of the Government of Denmark. From the mid-1980s onwards, the then-Greenland Home Rule government worked together with the Government of Denmark to resolve the social effects of the eviction. On 30 September 1986, Denmark and the U.S. agreed to reduce the area outside Greenland's jurisdiction to half of the original size. In 1997, the Danish government agreed to subsidize the construction of the Qaanaaq Airport (47 million DKK), in agreement with the Home Rule government.

On 28 November 2003, the Danish Supreme Court ruled on the relocation issue denying the residents of Qaanaaq the right to return to the former village in Pituffik. The Greenlanders, numbering 428 in the case, were represented by the Hingitaq 53 group. That decision was later appealed in the European Court of Human Rights. The Court unanimously declared the application inadmissible.

There has also been internal debate in Greenland concerning demands to force the airbase to pay lease fees for its use of the land.

The National Space Institute at the Technical University of Denmark operates the Thule Research Station at Pituffik, which is crewed up to two months a year.

Climate

See also

• High Arctic relocation
• Diego Garcia, the civilian population was removed in the 1970s to create a US Airforce Base in this British Indian Ocean Territory atoll

References

1. Fortescue, Michael. Language Relations Across Bering Strait: Reappraising the Archaeological and Linguistic Evidence. Open Linguistic Press, Cassell, 1998. ISBN 0-304-70330-3
2. Icy Imprisonment: The 1849 Voyage of the HMS North Star Archived May 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Ehrlich, Gretel (2001). This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland. Random House. pp. 143, 176, 222. ISBN 978-0-679-75852-5.
4. ^ "Greenland Collector Vol.8, No.2, May 2003". Post Greenland. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
5. ^ "Denmark -- HINGITAQ 53 vs. Denmark, Application No. 18584/04". Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
6. "Transportation to Pituffik". Air Greenland. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
7. ^ O'Carroll, Etain (2005). Greenland and the Arctic. Lonely Planet. pp. 199–200. ISBN 1-74059-095-3.
8. ^ "Kræver alt frem". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
9. "Udvalg rystet over hemmeligholdelse". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
10. "Afdæmpet missildebat". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 5 December 2006. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
11. "HINGITAQ 53 vs. Denmark, Application No. 18584/04 (decision from European Court of Human Rights as to admissibility of application)". Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW). Retrieved 10 November 2018.
12. "Atassut vil have pris på Pituffik". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 January 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
13. "Thule Research Station, Technical University of Denmark | Isaaffik". www.isaaffik.org. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
14. "Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 – Greenland" (PDF). Danish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

v t e Abandoned sites in Greenland
Greenlandic Inuit Danish	Avannaata Annoatok Appaalissiorfik Appat (Ritenbenck) Ataa Comer's Midden Etah Ikermiut Illorsuit Illulik Itissaalik Kuuk Moriusaq Narsaarsuk Nuugaatsiaq Qaqortuatsiaq Qernertuarssuit Qilakitsoq Saattoq Sarfaq Sermermiut Qeqertalik Qullissat Qeqqata Nipisat Island Sermersooq Ikkatteq Itterajivit (Kap Hope) Ivittuut Kangeq (Håbets Ø) Kangerluarsoruseq (Færingehavn) Nualik Qoornoq Umanak Umivik Uunarteq (Kap Tobin) Kujalleq Akunnat (Lichtenfels) Alluitsoq (Lichtenau) Idlorpait Ikigait Østprøven outside municipalities Clavering Island Pituffik Sabine Island
Greenlandic Norse Norsemen/Vikings	Western (Vestribyggð) Sandnæs (Kilaarsarfik) Eastern (Eystribyggð) Brattahlíð Dyrnæs Garðar Hvalsey Herjolfsnes Middle Settlement Farm ruins discovered
Faroese	Føroyingahavnin (Kangerluarsoruseq)
American	Bluie East Bluie East One Bluie East Two Bluie East Three Bluie East Four Bluie East Five Bluie West Bluie West One Bluie West Two Bluie West Three Bluie West Four Bluie West Five Bluie West Six Bluie West Seven Bluie West Eight Bluie West Nine DEW line DYE-1 DYE-2 DYE-3 DYE-4 Project Iceworm Camp Century Camp Fistclench
Dutch	Ritenbench (Appat) Rodebaai
German	Moravian Neu-Herrnhut Lichtenfels (Akunnat) Lichtenau (Alluitsoq) Friedrichsthal (Narsarmijit) Umanak Idlorpait Wehrmacht Holzauge (Hansa Bay, Sabine Island) Edelweiss (Dove Bay) Edelweiss II (Lille Koldewey)
Polar exploration	Brønlundhus Eismitte North Ice
Paleo-Eskimo	Deltaterrasserne

v t e Former administrative divisions of Greenland (until 31 December 2008)
Norse Greenland	Eastern Settlement (Eystribygð) (c.985–c.1400) Western Settlement (Vestribygð) (c.985–c.1400)
Danish colonies	North Greenland (Nordgrønland) (1721–1950) South Greenland (Sydgrønland) (c.1728–1950) Colony of Greenland (1950–1953)
Counties	County of Greenland (1950–1979) Avannaa (Nordgrønland) (1979–2008) Kitaa (Vestgrønland) (1979–2008) Tunu (Østgrønland) (1979–2008)
Municipalities	Aasiaat Ammassalik Ilulissat Ittoqqortoormiit Ivittuut Kangaatsiaq Maniitsoq Nanortalik Narsaq Nuuk Paamiut Qaanaaq Qaqortoq Qasigiannguit Qeqertarsuaq Sisimiut Upernavik Uummannaq Vaigat (from 1972 part of Qeqertarsuaq Municipality)
Unincorporated Areas	Kangerlussuaq (from 2002 part of Sisimiut Municipality) Pituffik Northeast Greenland National Park
See also	(New) Municipalities

• Former populated places in Greenland