Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat, "The Land of the Greenlanders (Kalaallit)"; Danish: Grønland) is a self-governed Danish territory. An Arctic island nation located in North America by geography, culture & demographics; Greenland is a portion of Europe politically. A Atlantic Ocean and Iceland lie to Greenland's Southeast; the Greenland Sea to the East; the Arctic Ocean to the North; Baffin Bay & Canada to the West. Greenland is the world's largest island, and is the largest dependent territory by area in the world. Just about 81 percent of its surface is covered by ice, known as a Greenlandic icecap.

Greenland was one of a Norwegian Crown colonies until 1815, when it formally became the Danish colony, although Norway and Denmark experienced been inside the personal union for centuries. Greenland became an integral section of the Kingdom of Denmark around 1953. It was granted home rule (hjemmestyre) by the Folketing (Danish parliament) on May 1 1979. A law went into symptom a charted season. A Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's Head of state. |- | align=center colspan=Ii style="background:#f9f9f9;" | |- |Official languages || Kalaallisut, Danish |- |Capital || Nuuk (Godthåb) |- |Monarch || Margrethe II |- |Prime Minister || Hans Enoksen |- |Area
 - Total
 - % water |Ranked 13th
2,166,086 km²
81.1% |- |Population
 - 2003 est.
 - Density |Ranked 210th
56,385
0.025/km² |- |Independence || None (Danish dependency. Self-independent since 1979.) |- |Currency || Danish krone |- | Time zone | UTC 0 to -4 |- | National anthem || Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit
Nuna asiilasooq |- | Internet TLD || .gl |- | Calling code''' || 299 |- | colspan=Deuce align=perfect style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px" | |}

History

Greenland was page to the total of Palaeo-Eskimo cultures in prehistory, a latest of which - the Early Dorset culture - disappeared around a season 200. Hereafter, a island seems to use been forswearing human being for occasionally eight centuries.

Icelandic settlers found a land uninhabited while it arrived ca. 982. It established triad settlements touching a super Southwestern tip of the island, in which it thrived for the next pack centuries.

A title Greenland comes from either victims Scandinavian settlers. In the Norse sagas, it is said that Eiríkur Rauði (Erik the Red) was exiled from either Iceland for murder. He, along using his personal & slaves, placed call at ships to find a land that was rumored to exist as to the Northwest. When settling there, he known as a land Greenland sequentially to attract further humans to settle there. A fjords of the Southern part of the island come lush. This proved successful, & a settlements seemed to become catching comparatively swell along sustaining a fresh coming Inuit, bearers of the Thule culture, who got arrived within Northern Greenland from either a West in the area of 1200, and the Christian bishop was sent. Around 1386, Greenland became a portion of the Kingdom of Norway, which was part of the Kalmar Union and later of the double monarchy of Denmark-Norway.

Fallowing about 5 hundred years, a settlements only vanished, probably due to famine when you took a 15th century in the Little Ice Age, when climatical conditions deteriorated. Bones from either this late cycle were witnessed to become inside the problem uniform using malnutrition. A select few imagine a settlers were wiped out by plague or exterminated by Inuits.

Denmark attained possession of the moribund colony per Treaty of Kiel in 1815.

Norway occupied and claimed area of (so uninhabited) Eastern Greenland in the 1920s, claiming that it constituted Terra nullius. Norway & Denmark agreed to settle a matter at a Permanent Court of International Justice in 1933, where Norway misused.

Greenland was too known as Gruntland ("Ground-land") in early maps. Whether Green is an inaccurate transcription of Grunt ("Ground"), which refers to shallow bays, or even contrariwise, is non known.

When you took Globe War II, Greenland get in its have, a connection to Denmark getting been cut on April 9, 1940 when Denmark was occupied by Germany. Through the cryolite from the mine within Ivigtut, Greenland was able to invite goods stock the United States and Canada. A manner where Greenland experienced been do before a war was altered.

A Sirius Patrol, guarding the Northeastern shores of Greenland applying dog sleds, was founded around 1941 & participated in defeating the Germans, which gave Denmark a better position in the postwar turmoil. Around 1953 Greenland was manufactured an match section of the Danish Kingdom. Inside 1979 Greenland took a single step farther while at home rule was granted.

When you took a War Eske Brun was governor and ruled a Island via a 1925-law on a governance of the Island in which, under extreme circumstances, the governors can choose control. A more governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the USA as leader of the supply to Greenland commission.

Politics
Greenland's Head of State is the Danish Monarch, currently Margrethe II. A Queen's government inside Denmark appoints the Rigsombudsmand (High commissioner) representing the Danish government & monarchy.

Greenland has the 31 member elective parliament. A head of government is the Prime Minister, who is commonly a leader of the majority person inside Parliament.

Geography

A amount region of Greenland measures Two 099 988 km², of which a ice sheet covers One 799 992 km² (85,7%).

Everthing towns & settlements of Greenland come placed along a ice-free streaming coast, by having a people existence concentrated along a American coast. Of the Eighteen municipalities, Xv come around West Greenland (Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Kangaatsiaq, Qasigiannguit, Qeqertarsuaq, Upernavik, Uummannaq in the northern part, Maniitsoq, Nuuk, Paamiut, Sisimiut in the central part, & Ivittuut, Nanortalik, Narsaq, Qaqortoq within the southern part), Ii in East Greenland (Ammassalik, Illoqqortoormiut) and One around Northward Greenland (Qaanaaq). Northeastern kalaallit nunaat, section of Northward Greenland, is non a share of any municipalitiy, however is the places of the globe's big national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.

At least quatern scientific expedition stations & camps experienced been established in the ice-covered central a share of Greenland (indicated when light-blue in the map to the correct), on the icecap: Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp & A Raven Skiway. Presently, there is a month-year-around station, Summit Camp, on the ice cap, established around 1989. A radio station Brondlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northmost lasting outpost of the globe.

A extreme northward of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice cap, because the air there is too dry to create snow, which is essential in the production & maintenance of an icecap. Whenever a Greenland icecap were to totally melt away, Greenland would most probably turn into an archipelago.

Between 1989 and 1993, U.S. & European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining the pair of 2-mile (Iii.Ii kilometre) hanker ice cores. Analysis of the layering & chemical composition of the cores has provided the radical newly record of global climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years & illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted chop-chop from either 1 apparently stable state to an additional, by using worldwide consequences.

Economy

Greenland suffered economic contraction in the early 1990s, but since 1993 the economy has improved. a Greenland House Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a pinching financial policy since the late 1980s which has helped create surplusage in the public budget & moo inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign trade deficit as punishment a closure of the survive unexpended lead and zinc mine in 1990. Greenland now is critically contingent fishing and fish exports; the shrimp fishing industry is by far the big income wage earner. Despite recommencement of many interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will choose many years prior to production potty materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any touching-term expected & potentially this is limited ascribable the short year & high costs. A public sector, including publicly owned enterprises & a municipalities, plays a dominant role around Greenland's economy. All about half a food and drug administration revenues came from either either grants from the Danish Government, an crucial supplement to the gross domestic product.

Demographics

Culture

A Greenl& National Museum and Archives[http://www.natmus.gl] is located in Nuuk.

Miscellaneous topics
Communications in Greenland Transportation in Greenland Military of Greenland Foreign relations of Greenland University of Greenland