GREENLAND

Greenland cropped
GREENLAND 1930

Greenland is the largest island in the World, and 80% of it is covered by the World's second largest icecap, thousands of metres thick, but thought to be getting smaller as temperatures rise. A narrow ice-free coastal fringe presents a mountainous and sparsely populated land, barely ever trodden by human feet and still unexplored in places.
It is truly one of the World's last great wildernesses with a landscape of dramatic winding fjords filled with giant icebergs, towering peaks and jagged ridges, enormous glaciers reaching down into the sea, deep valleys with crystal-clear salmon streams. Greenland is a true Arctic wilderness, and uniquely it is home to a remarkable community that have adapted to its harsh beauty with infinite skill.
INTERESTING FACTS:

  • Covering an area of 840,000 sq miles, Greenland is the world’s largest island
  • Stretching approximately 2,800 km (1,750 miles) from north to south and approximately 1,000 km (625 miles) from east to west
  • The climate is extremely harsh - more than 80% of the island is covered by an ice-cap which is 4km thick in places
  • Population: 57,000
  • Capital and largest town: Nuuk (Godthab)
  • Major languages: Greenlandic, Danish
  • Major religion: Christianity
  • Life expectancy: 65 years (men); 72 years (women)
  • Main exports: Fish, fish products, hides and skins
  • Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland
  • Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953.
  • It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973, but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centred on stringent fishing quotas.
  • In 1979, Greenland was granted the status of an autonomous Danish dependent territory with limited self-government, as well as its own parliament in 1979
  • Denmark is in charge of foreign affairs and defence policy and contributes two thirds of its budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing
  • Denmark is also Greenland’s main trading partner
  • Many of the Inuit (Eskimo) people survive by hunting and fishing – they are struggling as fish stocks become depleted
  • Inhabitants face severe social problems, notably unemployment, alcoholism and HIV/AIDS
  • Recent environmental studies have raised fears that globally warming is causing Greenland’s ice cover to melt increasingly fast, which could have serious implications for future sea levels and ocean currents

USEFUL LINKS:
http://www.greenland.com/content/english/tourist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland
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