Greenland

I

Introduction

Greenland, also Kalaallit Nunaat (Danish, Grønland), island, internally self-governing part of Denmark, situated between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Greenland lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle and is separated from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, on the west, primarily by the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, and from Iceland, on the east, by the Strait of Denmark. The largest island in the world, Greenland has a maximum length, from its northernmost point on Cape Morris Jesup to Cape Farewell in the extreme south, of about 2,655 km (1,650 mi). The maximum distance from east to west is about 1,290 km (800 mi). The length of Greenland's coast, which is deeply indented with fiords, is estimated at 5,800 km (3,600 mi). The total area of Greenland is approximately 2,166,100 sq km (836,115 sq mi), of which about 81 per cent, or some 1,755,640 sq km (677,675 sq mi), is ice cap. The capital is Nuuk.

II

Land and Resources

Greenland consists of an interior ice-covered plateau surrounded by a mountainous, generally ice-free, rim. The ice cap is thickest near the centre of the island, where the maximum depth is estimated at about 2,440 m (8,000 ft). Core samples drilled from this ice cap have enabled scientists to learn much about the climate of the northern hemisphere since the last Ice Age, including fluctuations in temperature as well as specific events like volcanic eruptions. Underneath the ice are the ancient rocks of the Greenland Shield, which is geologically related to the Canadian Shield. The main upland areas are along the eastern coast, including Greenland's highest point, Mount Gunnbjørn (3,700 m/12,139 ft). Drainage is afforded mainly by the so-called ice fiords, in which glaciers from the ice cap pass through valleys to the sea, where they form thousands of icebergs each year. The Ilulissat ice fiord, on the west coast, is one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world; it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004.

The climate is extremely cold, but during the short summer the mean temperature reaches 8.9° C (48° F) in the south of the island. Greenland's mammals are more American than European, and include the musk ox, wolf, lemming, and reindeer. The varieties of seal and whale, and most of the species of fish and seabirds, are also American rather than European. Circumpolar animals, such as the polar bear, arctic fox, polar hare, and stoat, are also found.

III

Population

Greenlanders are a people of mixed ancestry, primarily Inuit (Eskimo) and European, especially Danish-Norwegian. Greenland has a population (2007 estimate) of about 56,344, giving an average density of 0.14 people per sq km (0.35 per sq mi) of Greenland's 410,460 sq km (158,440 sq mi) of ice-free land. Nearly all the population is located on the narrow south-western coastal fringe; more than 80 per cent of the population is classified as urban.

The capital, Nuuk, formerly known as Godthåb (population, 2001 estimate, 14,000), on the south-western coast, is the largest and oldest Danish settlement on the island, having been founded in 1721. Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg; 1994, 4,839), on the western coast just north of the Arctic Circle, is the second-largest town. Other settlements include Qaqortoq (Julianehåb), Paamiut (Frederikshåb), and Narsaq, on the southern coast; Qaanaaq (Thule), on the north-western coast; and Ammassalik (Angmagssalik), on the eastern coast.

The official language of Greenland is Greenlandic Inuktitut, an Inuit language whose dialects can vary so much that they are classified as separate languages by some. Danish is also spoken by most of the population, mainly as a second language. The educational system is based on that of Denmark. Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 16. About 100 school centres have been established; the languages of instruction are West Greenlandic and Danish. Nuuk has a teacher training college and a university centre.

IV

Economy

Greenland's gross national product (World Bank estimate) was about US$ 465 million in the late 1980s, giving an average income per head of US$ 8,700. The monetary unit is the Danish krone of 100 øre (DKr 5.72 equalled US$1; early 2007). Fishing, seal hunting, and fur trapping are the principal traditional economic activities. The fish catch is primarily cod, shrimp, and salmon; fish processing is the major industrial activity. Agriculture is only possible on about 1 per cent of the total area. Sheep, reindeer and goats are raised in small numbers in some parts of the south-western coastal area, and hardy vegetables are grown. Greenland was formerly the world's main source of natural cryolite, a mineral used in the manufacture of aluminium but, by the late 1970s, reserves were exhausted. Lead and zinc were also produced until the mines were exhausted in 1990. Deposits of gold, coal and uranium are known to exist. External trade is dominated by the Royal Greenland Company (Grønlands Handel). The main exports are fish, and fish products; the principal imports, machinery and transport equipment. Pituffik (previously Thule Air Base) in the north supports a community of American and Danish civilian and military personnel. Greenland is the source of many of the weather changes in the northern hemisphere, and knowledge of Greenland weather is of prime importance for the prediction of conditions in the North Atlantic Ocean and in western Europe. Weather and radio stations are of inestimable value for Atlantic aerial traffic.