Nuuk mainland, and was named Godthåb ("Good Hope"). The city officially adopted its current name in 1979, although the name "Godthåb" remained in use in Danish. "Nuuk" is the Kalaallisut word for "cape" (). It is so named because of its position at the end of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea. Its latitude, at 64°10' N, makes it the world's northernmost capital, only a few kilometres farther north than the Icelandic capital Reykjavík. The campus of the University of Greenland, hosting Statistics Greenland, and the main holdings of the Public and National Library of
Nuuk year, the sun rises at 10:30 A.M. and sets at 2:20 pm. By contrast, on the longest day and shortest night of the year, 21 June, the sun rises at 3:00 A.M. and does not set until 12:00 am. Nuuk can have mild temperatures on brief occasions year round, with each month having recorded or warmer. The monthly averages range from to , whereas all-time extremes range from to . The climate ( in July) is colder than what is considered the limit for trees ( during the warmest month). There are a few planted trees which do not sustain