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geography Greenland

Geography of Greenland

Greenland is a self-governing Danish province that is situated between the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The physiographical and the ethnical position of the island are closer to the North America continent, however historically and politically Greenland is closer to Europe.

Greenland is the largest island in the world and has the biggest national park in the entire globe, bordering the Greenland Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, as wella s the Baffin Bay. The nearest countries to Greenland are Iceland and Canada. Greenland covers an area of 2 166 086 square meteres, of which 1 755 637 square meters or 81 % covered by ice sheet. The coastline of Greenland is 39 330 kilometers and all towns and settlements in the country are located along the ice-free coast.

Most of the population is concentrated on the western coast of Greenland. The ice-covered central part of Greenland hosts several scientific expedition stations and a radio station. The ice sheet of Greenland shrunk significantly since 1978. It is estimated that if the ice cover melts completely, the sea level would rise by more than seven meters and Greenland will become an archipelago. The climate in Greenand is arctic and subarctic and it is characterized with cold winters and cool summers.

The lowest point is at the sea level, while the highest is called Gunnbjorn and is 3700 meters high. The natural resources in Greenland include lead, zinc and iron, as well as coal, gold, platinum. Fish, seals and whales are well-presented in the local fauna, while the flora is sparse with forests mainly. The population of Greenland comprises of 56 344 citizens, consisting of 88 % Inuit people and 12 % European people, mainly Danish. Most of the people are Evangelical Lutheran and they live along the fjords where the climate is mild. The official languages in Greenland are Danish and Greenlandic. English is widely spoken as well, so tourists will not face any language difficulties when coming on a holiday.