Pituffik

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title: "Pituffik" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["former-populated-places-in-greenland", "forcibly-depopulated-communities", "radioactively-contaminated-areas", "pituffik-space-base", "ethnic-cleansing-in-north-america"] topic_path: "general/former-populated-places-in-greenland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pituffik" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Pituffik
image_skyline	Sled Dogs Thule Greenland.jpg
image_caption	A dog sled race at Pituffik, with Mount Dundas in the background
pushpin_map	Greenland
pushpin_map_caption	Location within Greenland
pushpin_mapsize	300
subdivision_type	State
subdivision_name	Kingdom of Denmark
subdivision_type1	Constituent country
subdivision_name1	Greenland
subdivision_type2	Municipality
subdivision_name2	Avannaata
extinct_title	Relocated
extinct_date	1953
timezone	UTC-04
coordinates
::

|name = Pituffik |image_skyline = Sled Dogs Thule Greenland.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = A dog sled race at Pituffik, with Mount Dundas in the background |pushpin_map = Greenland |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption = Location within Greenland |pushpin_mapsize = 300 | subdivision_type = State | subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark | subdivision_type1 = Constituent country | subdivision_name1 = Greenland | subdivision_type2 = Municipality | subdivision_name2 = Avannaata | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = |established_title = |established_date = |extinct_title = Relocated |extinct_date = 1953 |timezone = UTC-04 |coordinates = Pituffik is a former Inughuit settlement in North Star Bay, near Mount Dundas at the eastern end of Bylot Sound in northern Greenland. It was located on the plain that is now occupied by the runway of the U.S. Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base. The Inughuit 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 Inughuit, the northern 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 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 ice in the sound.

Military control

Main article: Pituffik Space Base

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 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 paid by the U.S.

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

Main article: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

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 remains 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

Pituffik experiences a tundra climate (Köppen: ET); with short, cool summers and long, frigid winters. Temperatures & precipitation are low year-round, but are somewhat higher during the summer.

|location = Pituffik (, 77 m AMSL) (1961-2006 data) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |width = auto |Jan record high C = 0.7 |Feb record high C = 1.0 |Mar record high C = 1.2 |Apr record high C = 4.5 |May record high C = 11.2 |Jun record high C = 13.8 |Jul record high C = 15.6 |Aug record high C = 14.3 |Sep record high C = 9.4 |Oct record high C = 7.0 |Nov record high C = 4.4 |Dec record high C = 1.9 |year record high C = 15.6 |Jan high C = -21.9 |Feb high C = -22.1 |Mar high C = -21.2 |Apr high C = -12.7 |May high C = -2.6 |Jun high C = 4.2 |Jul high C = 7.1 |Aug high C = 5.2 |Sep high C = 0.4 |Oct high C = -6.3 |Nov high C = -13.2 |Dec high C = -17.8 |year high C = -8.4 |Jan mean C = -23.9 |Feb mean C = -24.6 |Mar mean C = -23.7 |Apr mean C = -15.3 |May mean C = -4.3 |Jun mean C = 2.8 |Jul mean C = 6.1 |Aug mean C = 4.5 |Sep mean C = -1.5 |Oct mean C = -8.6 |Nov mean C = -14.3 |Dec mean C = -20.1 |year mean C = -10.2 |Jan low C = -27.9 |Feb low C = -28.2 |Mar low C = -27.2 |Apr low C = -19.4 |May low C = -7.0 |Jun low C = 0.6 |Jul low C = 3.5 |Aug low C = 1.9 |Sep low C = -4.1 |Oct low C = -11.1 |Nov low C = -18.9 |Dec low C = -23.6 |year low C = -13.4 |Jan record low C = -40.5 |Feb record low C = -40.0 |Mar record low C = -41.2 |Apr record low C = -33.0 |May record low C = -23.1 |Jun record low C = -6.4 |Jul record low C = -3.0 |Aug record low C = -6.7 |Sep record low C = -15.4 |Oct record low C = -29.8 |Nov record low C = -32.5 |Dec record low C = -36.9 |year record low C = -40.5 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 5.3 |Feb precipitation mm = 4.5 |Mar precipitation mm = 5.7 |Apr precipitation mm = 7.3 |May precipitation mm = 9.8 |Jun precipitation mm = 13.7 |Jul precipitation mm = 22.7 |Aug precipitation mm = 26.5 |Sep precipitation mm = 13.6 |Oct precipitation mm = 15.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 12.2 |Dec precipitation mm = 13.1 |year precipitation mm = 149.4 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 2.2 |Feb precipitation days = 1.6 |Mar precipitation days = 2.2 |Apr precipitation days = 2.3 |May precipitation days = 1.4 |Jun precipitation days = 2.2 |Jul precipitation days = 4.6 |Aug precipitation days = 4.3 |Sep precipitation days = 3.0 |Oct precipitation days = 4.3 |Nov precipitation days = 3.2 |Dec precipitation days = 3.2 |year precipitation days = 34.5 |Jan snow days = 4.0 |Feb snow days = 4.0 |Mar snow days = 3.8 |Apr snow days = 3.5 |May snow days = 3.9 |Jun snow days = 2.3 |Jul snow days = 1.1 |Aug snow days = 1.5 |Sep snow days = 4.8 |Oct snow days = 6.4 |Nov snow days = 5.7 |Dec snow days = 5.3 |year snow days = 48.0 |Jan humidity = 84.1 |Feb humidity = 83.8 |Mar humidity = 82.1 |Apr humidity = 79.2 |May humidity = 77.4 |Jun humidity = 78.0 |Jul humidity = 77.0 |Aug humidity = 79.0 |Sep humidity = 76.6 |Oct humidity = 81.4 |Nov humidity = 81.1 |Dec humidity = 84.9 |year humidity = 80.4 |source 1 = Danish Meteorological Institute (1991-2006 data){{cite web |last1 = Cappelen |first1 = J |last2 = Drost Jensen |first2 = C |last3 = Laursen |first3 = Ellen Vaarby |last4 = Stannius |first4 = Lotte Sligting |last5 = Thomsen |first5 = Rikke Sjølin |editor-last = Hansen |editor-first = Ane |editor2-last = Rasmussen |editor2-first = Leif |editor3-last = Scharling |editor3-first = Mikael |date = December 20, 2021 |title = Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 – Greenland |url = https://www.dmi.dk/fileadmin/Rapporter/2021/DMI_report_21_12_Greenland.pdf |publisher = Danish Meteorological Institute |access-date = July 13, 2025 |last1 = Cappelen |first1 = J |last2 = Jørgensen |first2 = Bent Vraae |editor-last = Buus-Hinkler |editor-first = J |editor2-last = Rasmussen |editor2-first = T |editor3-last = Scharling |editor3-first = M |date = 2000 |title = Klimaobservationer i Grønland, 1958-99 - med klimanormaler 1961-90 |language = da |url = https://www.dmi.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Rapporter/TR/2000/tr00-18.pdf |publisher = Danish Meteorological Institute - Ministry of Transport |access-date = July 13, 2025

References

(2025). "Thule".
[[Michael Fortescue. Fortescue, Michael]] (1998). ''Language Relations Across Bering Strait: Reappraising the Archaeological and Linguistic Evidence''. Cassell. {{ISBN. 0-304-70330-3
[http://beyondthebackyard.com/2014/09/03/icy-imprisonment-the-1849-voyage-of-the-hms-north-star/ Icy Imprisonment: The 1849 Voyage of the HMS North Star] {{webarchive. link. (May 2, 2016)
Ehrlich, Gretel. (2001). "This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland". [[Random House]].
"Greenland Collector Vol.8, No.2, May 2003". [[Post Greenland]].
(2006). "HINGITAQ 53 and others v. Denmark, Application No. 18584/04". European Court of Human Rights.
"Transportation to Pituffik". [[Air Greenland]].
O'Carroll, Etain. (2005). "Greenland and the Arctic". [[Lonely Planet]].
(2 February 2010). "Kræver alt frem". [[Sermitsiaq (newspaper).
(12 November 2010). "Udvalg rystet over hemmeligholdelse". [[Sermitsiaq (newspaper).
(5 December 2006). "Afdæmpet missildebat". [[Sermitsiaq (newspaper).
(23 November 2007). "Atassut vil have pris på Pituffik". [[Sermitsiaq (newspaper).
"Thule Research Station, Technical University of Denmark {{!}} Isaaffik".
(October 23, 2023). "High-resolution (1 km) Köppen-Geiger maps for 1901–2099 based on constrained CMIP6 projections". [[Nature (journal).

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