Nuuk is located at approximately  at the mouth of Nuup Kangerlua (formerly Baal's River), some  from the shores of the Labrador Sea on the southwestern coast of Greenland, and about  south of the Arctic Circle. Initially, the fjord flows to the northwest, to then turn southwest at , splitting into three arms in its lower run, with three big islands in between the arms: Sermitsiaq Island, Qeqertarsuaq Island, and Qoornuup Qeqertarsua. The fjord widens into a bay dotted with skerries near its mouth, opening into Labrador Sea at approximately . Some  to the northeast, reaching a height of , Sermitsiaq can be seen from almost everywhere in Nuuk. The mountain has given its name to the nationwide newspaper ''Sermitsiaq''. Closer to the town are the peaks of Store Malene, , and Lille Malene, . The magnetic declination at Nuuk is extreme.