[Note 1] It is located in central-western Greenland, on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately 320 km (200 mi) north of Nuuk.

Today, Sisimiut is the largest business centre north of the national capital of Nuuk and is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland.

Sisimiut is still expanding, with the area north of the port, on the shore of the small Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay reserved for a modern suburb-style housing slated for construction in the 2010s.

Several professional and general schools are based in Sisimiut, providing education to the inhabitants of the city and to those from smaller settlements in the region.

The city has its own bus line, and is the northernmost year-round ice-free port in the country, a shipping base for western and northwestern Greenland.

Supply ships head from the commercial port towards smaller settlements in more remote regions of Uummannaq Fjord, Upernavik Archipelago, and as far as Qaanaaq in northern Greenland.

[6] Research at the Asummiut excavation site near the airport[8] has uncovered the changing settlement pattern, exhibiting transition from the single-family dwellings to tiny villages of several families.

The types of dwelling varied from tent rings made of the hides of hunted mammals, to stone hearths, with no evidence of communal living in larger structures.

[6] Despite recent advances in DNA research based on hair samples from the ancient Saqqaq migrants (which gives insight into their origin), the reason for the decline and subsequent disappearance of the culture are not yet known.

[9] After several hundred years of no permanent habitation, the second wave of migration arrived from Canada, bringing the Dorset people to western Greenland.

[10] The largest number of Dorset culture artifacts can be found further north in the Disko Bay region, while the further to the south, the poorer the finds, disappearing completely on the coast of Labrador Sea in southwestern Greenland.

[10] The Inuit of the Thule culture—whose descendants form the majority of the current population—arrived nearly a thousand years ago, with the first arrivals dated to approximately 13th and 14th century.

The Thule people were more technologically advanced than their Dorset predecessors, although they still relied on subsistence hunting, with walruses, reindeer, and particularly the fur seals constituting the base of the economy in the early period.

Rich in fauna, the coastal region from Sisimiut to Kangaamiut was particularly attractive for migrants, and due to a large number of historical artifacts it is currently listed as a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the application received in 2003.

At the time of Hans Egede's establishment of the first Danish colonies, Dutch whalers dominated the area and swiftly burnt down his Bergen Company whaling station on Nipisat Island, approximately 30 km (19 mi) to the north of the present-day town.

It was not until Jacob Severin was granted a full monopoly on the Greenlandic trade and permitted to act as an agent of the Danish navy that the Dutch were finally removed in a series of battles in 1738 and 1739.

[14] The entrance to the yard with the old church and other protected historical buildings is decorated with a unique gate made of whale jawbone.

[22] The 544 m (1,785 ft)[22] high twin summit commands a wide view in all directions, with the majority of the coast of the Qeqqata municipality visible in good conditions.

In the middle of the valley towers a standalone Alanngorsuaq mountain (411 m (1,348 ft)), surrounded by several lakes, one of which serves Sisimiut town as a water reservoir.

[28] Precipitation is very low in Sisimiut, with the greatest amount of rainfall occurring in the second half of the year, between July and December, with August and September being the wettest months.

[32] Most families in Sisimiut live in single-family houses, most often the traditional colorful wooden prefabricated homes shipped from Denmark, and almost always raised or supported by a concrete foundation due to permafrost.

[16] Unlike in Nuuk, the modern environmentally friendly construction technologies have not yet arrived to Sisimiut, and in 2010 the existing communal-block district remained in a state of partial disrepair.

The Qeqqata municipality however is planning the town expansion in the 2010s, with the area north of the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay reserved for real estate.

[35] Hunting is also important to some of the local livelihoods, mainly seals, walrus, beluga whale, narwhal, reindeer and muskoxen.

A range of shops operate in Sisimiut, from chain supermarkets of Pisiffik and Brugsen to independent outlets, also serving supplies to the smaller settlements in the region.

[39] In 2010 KNI announced plans to also move the operational base of Polaroil from Maniitsoq to Sisimiut, causing protests in the former community[39] already experiencing depopulation.

Although rainfall is low, Sismiut has abundant natural supplies of fresh, drinkable surface water, collected from a reservoir under Alanngorsuaq.

[56] The tough, 160 km (99 mi) long Arctic Circle Race takes place each winter, with the trail partially overlapping with the Polar Route from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq.

Apart from the traditional curriculum, it provides specialized courses in Greenland history and culture including skin preparation and ski instruction.

For most of the year, Sisimiut is served twice-weekly by coastal ferries of Arctic Umiaq Line which link the communities of the western coast.