Greenland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kalaallit Nunaat Grønland Greenland |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
| Anthem Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit Nuna asiilasooq |
||||||
 |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Nuuk (Godthåb) |
|||||
| Official languages | Greenlandic, Danish | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary democracy (within constitutional monarchy) |
|||||
| - | Monarch | Margrethe II | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Hans Enoksen | ||||
| Autonomous province of the Kingdom of Denmark | ||||||
| - | Home rule | 1979 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 2,166,086 km² (13th) 836,109 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 81.11 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | Dec 2006 estimate | 57,100 (214th) | ||||
| - | Density | 0.026 /km² (230th) 0.067 /sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2001 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $1.1 billion (not ranked) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $20,0002 (not ranked) | ||||
| HDI (n/a) | n/a (n/a) (n/a) | |||||
| Currency | Danish krone (DKK) |
|||||
| Internet TLD | .gl | |||||
| Calling code | +299 | |||||
| 1 | As of 2000: 410,449 km² (158,433 sq. miles) ice-free; 1,755,637 km² (677,676 sq. miles) ice-covered. | |||||
| 2 | 2001 estimate. | |||||
Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat, meaning "Land of the Kalaallit (Greenlanders)"; Danish: Grønland IPA: [g̊ʁœnlɑn], meaning "Greenland") is a self-governed Danish territory. Though geographically and ethnically an Arctic island nation associated with the continent of North America, politically and historically Greenland is closely tied to Europe.
Greenland is the largest island in the world and has the lowest population density.
Contents |
[edit] History
Greenland was home to a number of Paleo-Eskimo cultures in prehistory, the latest of which (the Early Dorset culture) disappeared around the year 200 AD. Hereafter, the island seems to have been uninhabited for some eight centuries.
Icelandic settlers led by Erik the Red found the land uninhabited when they arrived c. 982. Around 984 they established the Eastern and Western settlements in deep fjords near the very southwestern tip of the island, where they thrived for the next few centuries, and then disappeared after over 450 years of habitation.
The fjords of the southern part of the island were lush and had a warmer climate at that time, possibly due to what was called the Medieval Warm Period. These remote communities thrived and lived off farming, hunting and trading with the motherland, and when the Norwegian kings converted their domains to Christianity, a bishop was installed in Greenland as well, subordinate to the archdiocese of Nidaros. The settlements seem to have coexisted relatively peacefully with the Inuit, who had migrated southwards from the Arctic islands of North America around 1200. In 1261, Greenland became part of the Kingdom of Norway.
After almost five hundred years, the Scandinavian settlements simply vanished, possibly due to famine during the fifteenth century in the Little Ice Age, when climatic conditions deteriorated, and contact with Europe was lost. Bones from this late period were found to be in a condition consistent with malnutrition. Some believe the settlers were wiped out by bubonic plague or exterminated by the Inuit. Other historians have speculated that Spanish or English pirates or slave traders from the Barbary Coast contributed to the extinction of the Greenlandic communities.
Denmark-Norway reasserted its latent claim to the colony in 1721. The island's ties with Norway were severed by the Treaty of Kiel of 1814, through which Norway was ceded to the king of Sweden, while Denmark retained all of her common overseas possessions, which, at that time, included small territories in India, West Africa and the West Indies, as well as the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland.
Norway occupied and claimed parts of (then uninhabited) East Greenland aka Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted Terra nullius. Norway and Denmark agreed to settle the matter at the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1933, where Norway lost.
During World War II, Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on April 9, 1940 when Denmark was occupied by Germany. Through the cryolite from the mine in Ivigtut, Greenland was able to pay for goods bought in the United States and Canada. During the war the system of government changed. Eske Brun was governor and ruled the Island via a 1925 law concerning the governing of the Island where, under extreme circumstances, the governors could take control. The other governor, Aksel Svane, was transferred to the United States as leader of the commission to supply Greenland. The Sirius Patrol, guarding the northeastern shores of Greenland using dog sleds, detected and destroyed several German weather stations, giving Denmark a better position in the postwar turmoil.
Greenland had been a protected and thereby isolated society until 1940. The Danish government, which governed the colonies of Greenland, had been convinced that the society would face exploitation from the outside world or even extinction if the country was opened up. During World War II, though, Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance during its period of self-government and independent communication with the outside world.
However, a commission in 1946 (with the highest Greenlandic council Landsrådet as participant) recommended patience and no radical reformation of the system. Two years later the first step towards an alteration of the governing of Greenland was initiated when a grand commission was founded. In 1950 the report (G-50) was presented. Greenland was to be a modern welfare society with Denmark as the sponsor and example. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom; home rule was granted in 1979.
[edit] Etymology
The name "Greenland" comes from Scandinavian settlers. In the Norse sagas, it is said that Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for murder. He, along with his extended family and thralls, set out in ships to find the land that was rumored to be to the northwest. After settling there, he named the land Grønland ("Greenland"), possibly in order to attract more people to settle there.[1] Greenland was also called Gruntland ("Ground-land") on early maps. Whether Green is an erroneous transcription of Grunt ("Ground"), which refers to shallow bays, or vice versa, is not known. It should also be noted, however, that the southern portion of Greenland (not covered by glacier) is indeed very green in the summer, and was likely even greener in Erik's time because of the Medieval Warm Period.[citation needed]
[edit] Sovereignty
[edit] History
Greenland was one of the Norwegian Crown colonies from the eleventh century until 1814. At that time, the kingdom of Denmark-Norway found itself on the losing side of the Napoleonic Wars. In gratitude to Sweden for her assistance in defeating Napoleon (and as a consolation for the recent loss of Finland to Russia), mainland Norway and certain Norwegian territories were transferred to Sweden — thus, the personal union of Norway and Denmark ended. The crown colonies of Greenland, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands, however, remained part of the reorganised "Kingdom of Denmark."
Greenland became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953. It was granted home rule by the Folketing (Danish parliament) in 1978. The law went into effect on May 1, 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's Head of State. Greenlandic voters subsequently chose to leave the European Economic Community upon achieving self-rule.
[edit] Hans Island
There is an on-going diplomatic sovereignty dispute between Canada and Greenland (represented internationally by Denmark) over the tiny Hans Island.
[edit] Politics
Greenland's Head of State is the Danish Monarch, currently Margrethe II. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a Rigsombudsmand (High commissioner) representing the Danish government and monarchy.
Greenland has an elected parliament of thirty-one members. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The current Prime Minister is Hans Enoksen.
Unlike Denmark, Greenland is not part of the European Union, having left its predecessor, the European Community, in 1985.
[edit] Geography
- See also: Administrative divisions of Greenland
The Atlantic Ocean borders Greenland's southeast; the Greenland Sea is to the east; the Arctic Ocean is to the north; and Baffin Bay is to the west. The nearest countries are Iceland, east of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean, and Canada, to the west and across Baffin Bay. Greenland is the world's largest island, and is the largest dependent territory by area in the world. It also contains the world's largest national park.
The total area of Greenland measures 2,166,086 km² (836,109 mi²), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers 1,755,637 km² (677,676 mi²) (81%). The coastline of Greenland is 39,330 km (24,430 mi) long, about the same length as the Earth's circumference at the Equator.
The weight of the massive Greenlandic ice cap has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m [1,000 ft] below sea level.[2]
All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the Western coast. The northeastern part of Greenland, which includes sections of North Greenland and East Greenland, is not part of any municipality, but is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.
At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the map to the right), on the ice sheet: Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. Currently, there is a year-round station, Summit Camp, on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brøndlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.
The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to completely melt away, sea levels would rise more than 7 m (23 ft)[3] and Greenland would most likely become an archipelago.
Between 1989 and 1993, U.S. and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of two-mile (3.2 km) long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences.[4] The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to global sea level rise at a faster rate than was previously believed.[5]
In February 2006, researchers reported that Greenland's glaciers are melting twice as fast as they were five years ago. According to satellite gravity measurements, the annual loss was estimated at 216 km³/yr (52 cubic miles per year) by 2005. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) found that the average winter temperature had risen almost 6°C (approx. 10°F).[6]
Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of 6 cm/yr between 1994 and 2005.[7]
In 1996, the American "Top of the World" expedition found the world's northernmost island off Greenland: ATOW1996. An even more northerly candidate was spotted during the return from the expedition, but its status is yet to be confirmed.
Qaanaaq, in North West Greenland, is the most northerly place whose name is a palindrome.
[edit] Topography
About 81% of its surface is covered by ice, known as the Greenland ice sheet, the weight of which has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m [1,000 ft] below the surrounding ocean.
[edit] Economy
Greenland suffered economic contraction in the early 1990s, but since 1993 the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine in 1990. Greenland today is critically dependent on fishing and fish exports; the shrimp fishing industry is by far the largest income earner. Despite resumption of several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish Government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). GDP per capita is equivalent to that of the weaker economies of Europe.
[edit] Transportation
The major airport is on the West coast at Kangerlussuaq. International flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. International flights to Baltimore are expected to begin in May 2007 for the duration of the summer [3]. Also new for summer 2007, Air Iceland plans to fly between Keflavík and Nuuk three times a week [4]. In addition to these routes there are scheduled international flights between Narsarsuaq and Copenhagen [5] and between Kusuluk on the East coast to Reykjavík [6]. Kangerlussuaq is the hub for domestic flights within Greenland.
[edit] Demographics
Greenland has a population of 56,361, of whom 87% are Greenlandic, a mixture of Inuit and European races. The majority of the population are Evangelical Lutherans.
Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a milder climate. Most Greenlanders have both Kalaallit (Inuit) and Scandinavian ancestry.
[edit] Languages
The official languages of Greenland are Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) and Danish, and most of the population speak both of the languages. Greenlandic is spoken by about 50,000 people, some of whom are monolingual. A minority of Danish migrants with no Inuit ancestry speak Danish as their first, or only, language. English is widely spoken as a third language.
The Greenlandic language is the most populous of the languages of the Eskimo-Aleut language family and it has as many speakers as all the other languages of the family combined. Within Greenland three main dialects are recognized: the northern dialect Inuktun or Avanersuarmiutut spoken by around 1000 people in the region of Qaanaaq, Western Greenlandic or Kalaallisut which serves as the official standard language, and the Eastern dialect Tunumiit Orasiaat or Tunumiutut spoken in eastern Greenland.
[edit] Culture
The Greenland National Museum and Archives [7] is located in Nuuk.
[edit] Sport
- See also: Greenland national football team
Football (soccer) is the national sport of Greenland, but Greenland is not a member of FIFA. FIFA rules require natural grass pitches for international games, but Greenland's climate prevents growth of grass that fulfils FIFA standards. A solution, however, may lie in FIFA's recent announcement that it plans to admit FieldTurf as a surface.
In January 2007, Greenland took part in the World Men's Handball Championship in Germany, finishing 22nd in a field of 24 national teams.
[edit] See also
|
|
[edit] Notes and references
- Alley, Richard B. The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future. Princeton University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-691-00493-5
- CIA World Factbook, 2000
- Lund, S. 1959. The Marine Algae of East Greenland. 1. Taxonomical Part. Meddr Gronland. 156(1), pp.1-245.
- Lund, S. 1959. The Marine Algae of East Greenland. 11. Geographic Distribution. Meddr Gronland. 156, pp.1-70.
- Steffen, Konrad, N. Cullen, and R. Huff (2005). "Climate variability and trends along the western slope of the Greenland Ice Sheet during 1991-2004," Proceedings of the 85th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting (San Diego).
- ^ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm Retrieved 12-Feb-2007
- ^ DK Atlas, 2001.
- ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0408_040408_greenlandicemelt.html
- ^ Alley, 2000
- ^ Roach, John (February 16, 2006). Greenland Glaciers Losing Ice Much Faster, Study Says. National Geographic. Retrieved on September 13, 2006.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
[edit] External links
| Find more information on Greenland by searching Wikipedia's sister projects | |
|---|---|
 |
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary |
 |
Textbooks from Wikibooks |
 |
Quotations from Wikiquote |
 |
Source texts from Wikisource |
 |
Images and media from Commons |
 |
News stories from Wikinews |
 |
Learning resources from Wikiversity |
- Official government site
- Official Greenland tourism information
- CIA World Factbook
- Statistics Greenland
- Greenland Map
- Greenland Dumps Ice into Sea at Faster Pace
[edit] News
Counties
East Greenland · North Greenland · West Greenland
Municipalities
Aasiaat · Ammassalik · Ilulissat · Ittoqqortoormiit · Ivittuut · Kangaatsiaq · Maniitsoq · Nanortalik · Narsaq · Nuuk · Paamiut · Qaanaaq · Qaqortoq · Qasigiannguit · Qeqertarsuaq · Sisimiut · Upernavik · Uummannaq
| International membership | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Outlying territories of European countries
1 Sovereignity over territories in Antarctica currently suspended under the Antarctic Treaty System.
Non-sovereign territories of Europe
Dependent territories and autonomous regions Unrecognized republics Territory administered by the United Nations 1 Entirely on another continent but having sociopolitical connections with Europe. 2 Only recognized by Turkey.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
