Facts About Greensland for Beginners

Greenland -- Trump is said to have discussed the idea of purchasing Greenland, during dinners and meetings with advisers."We see it as an expression of greater interest in investing in our country and the possibilities we offer," the government said. "Of course, Greenland is not for sale." 

What is Greenland best known for?      
The first thing that comes to mind when people think about Greenland is normally it's huge ice cap, Inuits or polar bears.

What follows is a list of things you might know or not know about Greenland and its truly unique culture and geography. Enjoy!

QUICK FACT's:

Greenland is the size of Western Europe.

Around 80% is permanently covered by a huge ice cap - the Inland Ice / The Greenland Ice sheet. 

The population lives scattered along the ice-free archipelago, with countless beautiful fjords and mountains.

The majority live in the lower part of West Greenland, while a small part lives in the northern Thule area, and in two demarcated areas on the rugged east coast.

The Greenlandic name for Greenland is

Kalaallit Nunaat
which means 

Land of the Greenlanders (or people).

What is Greenland best known for? 
The first thing that comes to mind when people think about Greenland is normally it's huge ice cap, Inuits or polar bears.

What follows is a list of things you might know or not know about Greenland and its truly unique culture and geography. Enjoy!

1. Greenlands Ice Sheet
The inland ice or ice sheet has an area of 1.8 million km2.

Volume, 2.7 million km3 of ice – the equivalent of about 7% of all the fresh water on earth, estimated to a 7 meters rise in sea level worldwide if the ice sheet melt.  

The highest point of the inland ice is 3,300 m above sea level and it is more than 3,500 m thick.

2. Icebergs and glaciers
There are glaciers all over Greenland, which more or less actively produce icebergs at different times of the year, mainly in the summer.

The most productive is the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier at Ilulissat Icefjord, which is also the most visited.

Icebergs are found throughout most of Greenland, all unique in shape, color, and size.

TOP 5 GLACIERS IN GREENLAND
* * * * *
1. Sermeq Kujalleq, the glacier at Ilulissat Icefjord, Disko Bay, West Greenland 
2. Eqip Sermia, Eqi Glacier, North of Ilulissat, West Greenland 
3. Narsap Sermia, glacier in Nuuk Fjord, the capital region, West Greenland 
4. Helheilm Glacier, East Greenland
5. Tasermiut Sermeq *, South Greenland

* No. 5 withdrawn and lost connection with Tasermiut fjord after 2009 due to climate change. Shown in the top photo on this page.  

Photo by David Trood

3. Population 
Greenland has about 55,000 inhabitants, of which 90% of these live in 16 towns, and the rest in small settlements. 

4. Nuuk the Capital of Greenland
The capital is Nuuk with about 18.000 inhabitants (2018). 

5. Greenlandic Language
The official language is Greenlandic with Danish and English as second languages. Greenlandic – Kalaallisut - is closely related to languages spoken by Inuit in Canada and Alaska.

6. Greenlands Area
2,175,600 km2 - the same size as France, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium combined. The 341,700 km2 ice-free areas are bigger than Norway – and ten times the size of Denmark. 

7. Distances
From north to south: 2,670 km (same distance as from Bergen in Norway to Tunis in North Africa).
From east to west: 1,050 km (same distance as from Edinburgh to Stockholm). 

8. The geographic location of Greenland
The southernmost point of Greenland, Cape Farewell, about the same latitude as Oslo. Northernmost point, Cape Morris Jessup, about 740 km south of the North Pole. 

The westernmost point, Cape Alexander, about the same longitude as New York. The easternmost point, Nordostrundingen, situated a little to the east of Iceland. Thus Greenland is east, west, north and south of Iceland. 

9. Greenland and the Arctic Circle
The Northern Polar Circle is called the Arctic Circle located at 66°North, dividing Greenland into dogsled land above and land without dogsled dogs below.

The City of Sisimiut is located right on the Arctic Circle, and there are several tours including the Arctic Circle Trail. 

No cities or villages are interconnected by roads.

10. The towns of Greenland
There are 16 major towns, each with surrounding settlements. None of the towns or settlements are interconnected by roads.

Although some towns are relatively close, nature is a barrier with high mountains, deep and wide fjords or glacier tongues from the ice sheet.

In North Greenland, the towns are Qaanaaq, Upernavik and Uummannaq.

In the Disko Bay, the towns are Ilulissat, Qassiannguit, Qeqertarsuaq and Aasiaat.

On the west coast are the towns Sisimiut, Maniitsoq, the Capital Nuuk and Paamiut. In South Greenland, the towns are Narsaq, Qaqortoq and Nanortalik.

These facts found:

 Greenland Guide and see more!