The largest island in the world is a self-governed autonomous nation under Denmark.
Located both south and north of the Arctic Circle, Greenland is a fascinating place. It is the largest island in the world and the name roughly translates to “Land of people”. About 80% of the land is covered in ice and the ice-free zone sizes up to that of Sweden. An Arctic wildlife haven, Greenland has jagged shores lines with ice bergs but also boasts of many hot springs. Greenland is the most sparsely populated country in the world.
Greenland is fascinating and here are fun facts about Greenland you probably didn’t know about.
Greenland was actually green – Vikings’ Greenland was green. Scientists do believe it was green around 2.5 million years ago. But Erik the Red, an exile from Iceland named this icy nation as Greenland, with hopes the name might attract more people.
The capital is Nuuk – Nuuk is a vibrant, funky and most cosmopolitan place in Greenland with almost one-quarter of population. There are hip cafes, boutiques, museums for people to visit.
Ice golf championship happens here – Ever heard of ice golf? Greenland hosts the Ice Golf World Championships in Uummannaq around Mid-March every year. The white ball is replaced by a red ball to be easily seen on white snow-capped course.
There are no roads – Transportation is mainly by boat or by air. There might be some sort of a road within a settlement, but to move from one settlement to another, you’d have to take the boat, helicopter or a dogsled.
Economy is run by fishing and whaling – The primary occupation is fishing and whaling and imports the rest. However, to prevent over-fishing, certain quota has been set by the authorities. They are not allowed to export meat though. Fishing is mostly to feed locally.
There are greener parts in Greenland – The area that lies within the Arctic Circle is fully ice-capped. However, the southern parts of Greenland do have greenery around. Since the summer temperature go up to almost 20 degrees, the southern parts are a great attraction for the outdoors. Southern Greenland also flourishes in farming of sheep, Caribou and root vegetables.
Best place to see the Northern Lights – The Land of the midnight Sun is also the best place to see Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights.
