Qullissat was not a traditional
Inuit settlement, but was founded in 1924 as a
coal mining town. By 1952, it had a population of 995, making it Greenland's third-largest settlement, and had become a cultural hub. On 15 December 1952, a landslide with a volume of on the slope of the mountain
Niiortuut from Qullissat generated a
tsunami in Sullorsuaq (or Vaigat) Strait. The wave struck a group of four fishermen away on the southern coast of the
Nuussuaq Peninsula, killing one of them, then struck Qullissat, where it had a run-up height of and inflicted minor damage. The coal mine attracted a multinational population, with
Danes,
Swedes, and
British people working in the mines. The
Greenland Provincial Council voted to close the mine in 1966 due to falling profits and demand, the poor quality of the coal, and the need for a larger labour force in the
cod fishing industry. and reached more than inland. It would have cost many lives had the town still been inhabited. == In popular culture ==