Inuit Qeqertaat, or Kaffeklubben Island, is the northernmost stretch of land where a person can stand. Located at the top of the Earth, this region is a dark gray expanse of gravel along the northern coast of Greenland. Here, the land gradually transitions into frozen sea ice.
Recently, climate change researchers and National Geographic Explorers Brian Buma and Jeff Kerby, along with their team, embarked on a journey to survey the plant and animal life that exists in this remote area. Among their discoveries was a common species of moss, Tortula mucronifolia, which is the world’s northernmost plant. They also came across a yellow and lime-green Arctic poppy, Papaver radicatum, growing just a few inches south of the moss.
Furthermore, Greenlandic archaeologist Aka Simonsen uncovered a ring of approximately 700-year-old Inuit stones on the nearby mainland. This discovery may be the northernmost archaeological remains ever found in the region and provides valuable insights into the history of human activity in this remote and inhospitable environment.