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Why is Greenland Just an Island Not a Continent?
Despite the relative huge size of Greenland, it is just an island. Why is it so?
One of the most unique islands in the world is Greenland. Physically and ethnically, Greenland is an Arctic island country and geographically a part of the continent of North America. Politically and historically, Greenland is associated with Europe, specifically Iceland, Norway, and Denmark. Greenland is the largest dependent territory by area in the world. It also contains the world’s largest national park.
When you take a closer look at the world map or the globe, Greenland appears to be like a continent because it appears to be larger than Australia, which is a continent. Even so, Greenland is just an island, actually the largest island in the world. Why is it so?
This is Scoresby Sund, the longest fjord in the world, stretching for 350 km (217 miles), and also one of the deepest (over 1500 m, 4,900 ft deep).
Greenland, compared with Australia’s mainland excluding its other territories, appeared to be larger in size. Greenland has a total land area of 2,166,086 km² (836,109 sq mi), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers 1,755,637 km² (677,676 sq mi) (81%) and has a volume of approximately 2.85 million km3. The entire island has only 19 towns and 117 villages. And why is it that Greenland is just an island, not a continent? What’s the difference between an island and a continent? According to Webster dictionary an island is a tract of land, usually of moderate extent, surrounded by water while a continent is a great landmass having generally the form of a plain and bordered by ridges of mountains and usually surrounded by water. Greenland is not bordered by mountain ridge that’s why Greenland is considered only an island despite its large size. Greenland is actually the size of the Arabian peninsula, it’s the map’s projection that makes it look so big. The apparent large size of Greenland is due to the Mercator projection of the map. Greenland may look larger than Australia on the map, but Australia is actually larger in land area.
(The town Qaqortoq in southwestern Greenland)
And why is it that it was called Greenland when in fact its vast area is covered with ice? It should have been named “Whiteland” or “Iceland” or anything related to its physical features. The name Greenland comes from Scandinavian settlers. Erik the Red named the land Grænland (Greenland). Greenland was also called Gruntland (Ground-land) and Engronelant (or Engroneland) 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. But according to some authors, the place was named Greenland in order to attract people to settle in the area.
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26 Comments
Interesting fact!
Bro, this a very informative article. simple topic but very enlightening. you did it again.
WEll submitted article.
Very interesting facts and interesting piece.
I learned interesting knowledge about Greenland. I did not think why Greenland isnt a continent..
Lovely piece. I love this location
Good article. It’d be nice to visit though. A friend has been there and said that it’s definitely worth visiting, once. It’s pretty expensive though.
Very interesting article! I’m never disappointed by your work – it’s always well done!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Interesting article. I always learn a lot from your work. Well done, Nobert, well done.
Nobert, you teach me so much. Thanks for another fine lesson.
Thanks for the Geography lesson bro.
Nice.
Interesting information about Greenland. I have always wondered how it came by the name”greenland.” take care, Ruby
really informative. thank you.
..nobert, very nice article and great pictures.
Take care. I like the site that you gave me information on.
Thanks again.
..nobert, very nice article and great pictures.
Take care. I like the site that you gave me information on.
Thanks again.
Very informative. Really learned a lot from your work!
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the reason i was once told about the name of greenland was because vikings named it greenland to trick anyone wishing to attack. the idea behind it that the attackers would not wear proper clothing to protect themselves from the cold and be forced to retreat home. might just be a folks tale but still neat
Greenland is not larger than Australia. It only appears to be larger on the map above because map projections are imperfect, and land masses like Greenland and Antarctica that are near the poles become skewed and stretched.
You were correct that Greenland has an area of 2,166,086 km², but failed to mention that Australia’s area is more than 3 times greater.
smiryakov is exactly right. On the map projection you chose Greenland is distorted, appearing larger than the continental United States when in reality it’s only a bit larger than Mexico.
Congratulations to the author for paying attention at least one day during 4th grade.
the question was answered in one sentence. mountain ridge borders. the rest is regurgitated facts from the internet.
unfortunately, that is not correct. Continents are designated by humans as continuous expanses with differing macrocultures, races, and historical backgrounds (not including antarctica, which has no culture). there are seven. all the continents are either islands, or part of larger islands. North/South America is one island.
I am worried for the people who learn things on here and don’t do further research.
why is greenland named greenland?
i would like an answer
hi tylerstinnett,read the last paragraph you’ll see what you’re asking for.thanks