Maniitsoq is a town in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. With 2,784 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland. The name means "place of rugged terrain" in the Greenlandic language. The town was built in 1755 as a colony on the site where the Kangaamiut settlement is located today, but was moved to its present-day location in 1782. Archaeological finds indicate that the area has been settled for more than 4,000 years. There are advanced plans for the Alcoa aluminium smelting plant. Sisimiut, the largest town in the muncipality, is another proposed location alongside Maniitsoq. The plant would provide...more »