 78º 18.1' North, 072º 58.1' West ( 2,280 nautical miles due north of Fire Island, NY, and 702 miles from the North Pole) |
 Etah is located all the way up the fjord past the curved moraine. |
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It was necessary to helicopter into Etah, a noteworthy stop in
Greenland. It has been called the northernmost continuously occupied
human (Inuit) settlement in (Thule) Greenland. (and the world) Today it is primarily a summer hunting camp but in 1900 and 1908 Robert Peary, Matthew Henson and Frederick Cook struck out for the North Pole from here using local Inuits and their dogs as guides. |
 The glacial till provides a firm landing zone and area for hunting cabins. It is also a prime grazing spot for arctic plants, caribou, hares, and our quarry this day, muskox. |
 Landing on the terminal moraine, at the foot of another retreating glacier. |
 The valley is immense. Try spotting three muskox above the tail of the helicopter. |
 Getting closer with a 10x lens. |
 Zeroing in with a telescope. |
 A snapshot of the Ice Age. |
 Botanizing for dwarf plants and summer berries. |
 A lemming's-eye view through inch-high plants. |
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 A mile hike to the glacier. |
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 The base of the glacier is a graveyard of bones from game harvested by the locals and local predators. |
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 The freshwater pond of the glacier is already frozen over in late August. |
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 The soft sediments in the valley are criss-crossed with the tracks of hunters and the hunted. |
 Just barely visible from the air.... |
 The steep, glacier-scoured walls of the fjord are surprisingly rich grazing areas for more muskox. |
 Rule Number 1: When the ship's horn is sounded: avoid danger. We must immediately leave the beach because of approaching fog, storms or polar bears. |
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Continue sailing to:
Resolute Bay, Beechey Island, Maxwell Bay, Croker Bay, Dundas Harbour,
Baffin Bay, Cape York-Greenland, Arctic plants, Etah-Greenland,
Qaanaaq-Greenland, Sled dogs, Fort Conger, Coburg Island,
Alexandra Fjord-Skraeling Island, Radstock Bay belugas,
Return to Resolute
Plankton, Plants, Arctic Fossil Corals, Ice-breaking, Fjords, Sunsets
Alaska