5 Facts of Greenland

The capital of Greenland is Nuuk

Despite its name Greenland is mostly ice, snow and rock (mountains), with most of its land mass covered by the Greenland ice sheet. The U.S. tried to acquire Greenland from Denmark after World War II, but was only given the right to build a NATO air base there in 1951. Greenland has had home rule only since 1979. The majority of the population is either Inuit or part Danish and Inuit the remainder are European mostly of Danish decent.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

Greenland is part of the kingdom of Denmark, but it is an autonomous country within the kingdom. It is physically and geographically part of North America. But, it is politically and culturally aligned with Europe mainly Demark and Norway and has been so for about 1000 years or a millennium. The majority of the people are evangelical Lutherans.

2

Greenland is the largest island in the world that is not a continent, but it is the least populated country in the world with only 57, 637 people as of July 1020. Ancestors of the modern Inuit population did not arrive until around AD 1200 and it was unknown to Europeans until Vikings from Iceland settled on the southwestern coast around the 10th century.

3

On June 21, 2009 Greenland assumed self-determination with responsibility for self-governance of judicial affairs, policing and natural resources. Denmark manages foreign affairs and controls defense matters. Greenlandic became the official language of Greenland on June 21, 2009 as well and the plan is for Greenland to move toward total independence from Denmark as revenues build from the countries natural resources.

4

Northeast Greenland National Park is the largest national park in the world with 375,000 square miles. It is bigger than 163 countries, it is the most northern national park in the world and it encompasses the entire northeastern coastline and interior of Greenland. It is Greenland's only national park.

5

If Greenland's ice sheet were to totally melt, the world's sea level would rise by 23 feet. This would cause enormous flooding throughout the world and the permanent loss of large amounts of land.