Nuuk is populated today by both Inuit and Danes. Over a third of Greenland's total population lives in the Nuuk Greater Metropolitan area. An article examining indigenous influences on cities worldwide suggested, 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
Nuuk Airport between Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk, using planes much smaller than the charter planes, often requiring a hotel night in Kangerlussuaq. Nuuk airport has one asphalt runway (05/23) above sea level. The airport terminal and apron are built on a levelled platform on an undulating slope under the Quassussuaq mountain, with the runway platform artificially elevated to compensate for the scarp immediately to the west. The runway platform bed is composed of broken rock and rubble, topped with gravel, and protected by a low, wooden fence. The northern end of the runway is less than from the shore of Nuup Kangerlua fjord.