Qinngua Valley


Qinngua Valley, also called Qinnquadalen, Kanginsap Qinngua and Paradisdalen, in Greenland is about from the nearest settlement of Tasiusaq, Kujalleq. The valley has the only natural forest in Greenland and is about long, running roughly north to south and terminating at Tasersuag Lake. The lake drains into Tasermiut Fjord. Mountains rise as much as on either side of the narrow valley.
The valley is situated about from the sea and protected from the cold winds coming off the interior glaciers of Greenland. In total, over 300 species of plants grow in the valley. The forest in Qinngua valley is a thicket consisting mainly of downy birch and gray-leaf willow, growing up to tall. Growing sometimes to tree height is the Greenland mountain ash, which is usually a shrub. Green alder is also found in the valley.
It is possible that other forests of this type once existed in Greenland but were cleared by early settlers for firewood or building material. The valley was declared a protected natural area in 1930.
Although nearly all of ice-free Greenland has an Arctic tundra climate, Qinngua valley may have a sub-arctic Dfc climate.