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Greenland is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Here are five things to know about this autonomous territory located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

Ice-covered land

It has three quarters bordering the Arctic Ocean and is 85 percent covered in ice.
Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish Realm. In 1979, it gained “autonomous territory” status. The island’s economy depends on subsidies from Copenhagen.

90 percent of its 55,000 inhabitants are Inuit, an indigenous group from Central Asia.

Photo: Minik Rosing

Greenland’s rich soil

Greenland’s ice melt strangely has a silver lining.

The melting glaciers unveil mineral-rich rock flour that could be used, for example, as fertilizers for dry soils in Africa and South America. The grey mud of Greenland—glacier flour–contains quarts, feldspar, and mica. The minerals are crushed to a powder, so fine that it has an incredibly large surface area. This reacts with water, roots, and micro-organisms in the soil.

Food security is a major issue in many tropical nations, with climate instability leading to poor growing conditions and catastrophic food shortages.

Greenland’s subsoil is also rich in rubies and uranium which could attract foreign investment.

Photo: Denis Felikson/University of Texas

At the heart of global warming

Sea level rise is one of the most severe consequences of climate change from human activities, with potentially major impacts on coastal societies. This massive territory is on the front line of melting Arctic ice in a region that is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet.

A majority of Greenland’s ice sheet is experiencing above-freezing temperatures this week, which could cause record melting and raise global sea levels.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, Greenland’s ocean levels continue to rise by about 3.3 millimetres per year. One of Greenland’s glaciers is losing five billion tonnes of ice a year to the ocean, according to researchers.

Sea levels have increased by 25 to 30 percent faster between 2004 and 2015, compared with the 1993-2004 period.

The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet accounts for 25 percent of this rise, up from five percent 20 years ago. And this is likely to increase as glaciers and ice caps melt.
the Danish Meteorological Institute, told CNN that 2019’s melt started earlier than expected
Greenland’s 2.4 million-year-old ice sheet covers most of the island and would raise global ocean level by seven meters if it disappears completely Greenland’s ice sheet was to disappear completely.
The melting begins to wake up trapped microbes in the ice for tens of thousands of years, releasing ancient C02, and could potentially infect humans with deadly diseases.

Global powers interest

Since World War II, Greenland has been extremely important to US defense when it has a base for monitoring Nazi ships and submarines passing through the Arctic on their way to the North Atlantic.

In 1943, the US Air Force built its farthest-north airbase, crucial during the Cold War as the first line of monitoring against a potential Russian attack.

Today, the base is part of a NATO mission, operating satellite monitoring and strategic missile detection systems.

As the polar ice sheet melts, other global power nations like Russia and China show interest as opening up potentially new polar shipping routes.

China’s massive commercial shipping industry would benefit from the new polar routes.

China began sending scientific missions to Greenland and a Chinese government-backed group also offered to build three new international airports in Greenland.

Previous US interest

Lately, Trump wanted to buy Greenland, but this is not the first time the US express interest.

President Harry S. Truman also offered to buy the island for $100 million in gold, or parts of Alaska, in exchange for Greenland.

In 1916, Washington purchased from the Scandinavian country the Danish West Indies for $25 million in gold, which then became the US Virgin Islands.

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Greenland is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Here are five things to know about this autonomous territory located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

Facts about Greenland You Didn’t Know

It has the world’s lowest population density

With a population just over 56,000 people, Greenland has the world’s lowest population density and its capital Nuuk is one of the world’s smallest capitals. The national language, Greenlandic, is closely related to Inuit languages of the indigenous population of the Canadian and Alaskan Arctic regions, although people here also speak Danish and most have a good grasp of English.

They’re Not Eskimos

They will be quite offended if you call them Eskimos. The proper name for an indigenous person from Greenland is Kalaallit, which actually means ‘Greenlander’ in the native Inuit language. 90 percent of its 55,000 inhabitants are Inuit, an indigenous group from Central Asia.

5000 people are Danes. Less than a 1000 people come from other countries – most of them from the Nordics, the other half from Thailand and the Philippines, Lena Lauridsen writes in Inussuk.

No Roads

Greenland is the biggest island with a land size of over 2 million square kilometers there are no roads or railway systems. All travel between towns is done by plane, boat, helicopter, snowmobile or dogsled.

Only two civilian airports have been built in the country, the largest of which is Kangerlussuaq Airport, in the south-west.

Largest national park in the world

Northeast Greenland National Park (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq) is the largest national park in the world, with an area of 972,000 km2 (375,000 sq mi),[1] making the park larger than 163 countries. It is the only national park in Greenland, and the most northerly national park in the world, its most northerly point reaching slightly further than the most northerly point in Quttinirpaaq National Park in Canada. The park encompasses the entire northeastern coastline and interior sections of Greenland.

The Sun Never Sets

This only occurs in summer but it’s a pretty cool natural phenomenon. It’s known as the ‘midnight sun’ places north of the arctic circle do not see any darkness all summer. From late April to late August, the sun will rise and colors will change as the day goes on but the sun will still be visible in golden light even throughout the entire night. The longest day of the year, June 21, is also Greenland’s national day.

It was named one of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Best in Travel for 2016

Perhaps a surprising entry on the Lonely Planet’s list of Best in Travel 2016, Greenland snagged one of the coveted top 10 positions. The organization attributed it to such qualities as the enchanting Northern Lights and the excitement of the upcoming Arctic Winter Games taking place in March.

This unique landscape is wonderful for visitors for here they’ll find fjords that are free of ice, with sparkling channels and relatively luscious landscapes of verdant rolling hills.

Photo credit: Egggeo / wikimedia

A Vibrant Capital City

The capital and largest city in Greenland is Nuuk, with a population of approximately 17,000 people, almost one-quarter of Greenland’s population lives there. Vibrant and funky, the city is the biggest, most cosmopolitan town on the island. It’s home to the University of Greenland, an art museum, sports stadium, cultural center, the National Library of Greenland and the country’s international airport.

One of the best spots in the world to see the Northern Lights in winter

Though winters in Greenland may be long and dark, they do provide the opportunity to see the amazing Norther Lights (aka Aurora Borealis) in all its glory. From September to mid-April, you can see the lights on just about any night the sky is clear, and since there’s little light pollution here, the colors are extremely vivid.

Southern Greenland lies underneath the Aurora Borealis Oval Zone and is, along with Iceland, considered a prime spot for Northern Lights viewing.

Greenland is indeed one of the most fascinating and enigmatic destinations on earth. Alongside a formidable ancient culture that’s distinct, the Arctic wilderness here is simply out of this world.
Watch this increadible video about the Magic northern lights of Greenland from VisitGreenland!

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