Greenland is a country in the North Atlantic Ocean with an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm and the world’s largest island.
The country is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Ice cap
Greenland boasts one of the largest ice sheets in the world, second only to Antarctica.
It affects sea level and covers more than 1.8 million square kilometres.
That is, in fact, nearly the entirety of the island—a whopping 80% of it.
Bathing in a hot spring
Hot springs are often reminiscent of Iceland, but Greenland also offers a wonderful landscape full of naturally occurring hot springs. On the island of Uunartoq, you’ll find springs that are warm enough to bathe in.
World Heritage sites
Speaking of ice, one of Greenland’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites is the Ilulissat Icefjord on the west coast.
That is where you will find Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the most active glaciers in the world and also the most visited glacier in Greenland.
The other two are Kujataa and the Aasivissuit Nipisat region.
Kujataa is a subarctic farming landscape that highlights the cultural histories of the Norse and Inuit hunters and farmers who developed the area.
Aasivissuit—Nipisat, meanwhile, is an Inuit hunting ground located inside the Arctic Circle.
Summer temperatures
During the summer months, in the southern part of the island, you may find that temperatures rise to 20 °C (68 °F) or higher.
Sparsely populated
The total population of the island is only around 57,000 people, or about the same size as Port Orange, Florida (US), or Aldershot (UK).
This population size is incredible when you think of its size, which is comparable to the land area of France, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium combined.
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No roads
People can take a misconception from films and believe there are roads across Greenland, but there are not.
Some roads exist within the towns themselves, but not between settlements.
Transportation here centres on boats and air traffic; there are airports and heliports across the country.
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