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GreenlandGreenland{{otheruses}} '''Greenland''' (Kalaallisut language|Greenlandic: ''Kalaallit Nunaat'', "The Land of the Greenlanders (Kalaallit)"; Danish language|Danish: ''Grřnland'') is a self-governed Danish territory and an Arctic island nation located in North America with shores on the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. It is the List of islands by size|world's largest island. About 81 percent of its surface is covered by ice. Greenland was one of the Norway|Norwegian Crown colonies until 1815, when it formally became a Denmark|Danish colony, although Norway and Denmark had been in a personal union for centuries. Greenland became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953. It was granted devolution|home rule (''hjemmestyre'') by the Folketing (Danish parliament) on May 1 1979. The law went into effect the following year. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II of Denmark|Margrethe II, remains Greenland's Head of state. <table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 align=right width=280px style="margin:0 0 1em 1em"> <caption><font size=+1>'''Kalaallit Nunaat''' <small> (Kalaallisut language|Greenlandic)</small><br> '''Grřnland''' <small>(Danish language|Danish)</small></font></caption> <tr><td style=background:#efefef; align=center colspan=2> <table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0> <tr><td align=center width=140px>Image:Greenland flag large.png|125px|Flag of Greenland <td align=center width=140px rowspan=2>Image:Greenland coat of arms.png|80px|Greenland Coat of Arms <tr><td align=center width=140px>(Flag of Greenland|In Detail) </table> <tr><td align=center colspan=2 style=border-bottom:3px solid gray;><font size=-1>Motto: ''None''</font> <tr><td align=center colspan=2>Image:LocationGreenland.png</td></tr> <tr><td>Official languages<td>Kalaallisut language|Kalaallisut, Danish language|Danish <tr><td>Capital<td>Nuuk (Godthĺb) <tr><td>List of Danish monarchs|Monarch<td>Margrethe II of Denmark|Margrethe II <tr><td>List of Prime Ministers of Greenland|Prime Minister<td>Hans Enoksen <tr><td>Area<br> - Total <br> - % ice<td>List of countries by area|Ranked 14th<br>1 E12 m2|2,166,086 km²<br>81.1% <tr><td>Population<br> - Total (2003) <br> - Population density|Density<td>List of countries by population|Ranked 210th<br>56,385<br> 0.2/km² <tr><td>Independence<td>None (Danish dependency. Self-governing since 1979.) <tr><td>Currency<td>Danish krone <tr><td>Time zone<td>Coordinated Universal Time|UTC 0 to -4 <tr><td>National anthem<td>Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit<br>Nuna asiilasooq <tr><td>Top-level domain|Internet TLD<td>.gl <tr><td>List of country calling codes|Calling Code<td>299 </table> == History == ''Main article: History of Greenland'' It is unknown when the native inhabitants of Greenland arrived, or why they decided to settle such a desolate place. Iceland|Icelandic settlers found the land uninhabited when they arrived ca. AD 982. They established three settlements near the very southwestern tip of the island, where they thrived for the next few centuries. The name Greenland comes from those Scandinavian settlers. In the Norse sagas, it is said that Erik the Red|Eiríkur Rauði (Erik the Red) was exiled from Iceland for murder. He, along with his family and slaves, set out in ships to find the land that was rumoured to be to the north-west. After settling there, he named the land Greenland in order to attract more people to settle there. The fjords of the southern part of the island are lush. This proved successful, and the settlements seemed to be getting relatively well along with the new coming Inuit, and a Christian bishop was sent. In 1386, Greenland became part of the Kingdom of Norway, which were part of the Kalmar Union and later of the double monarchy of Denmark-Norway. After almost five hundred years, the settlements simply vanished, probably due to famine during the 15th century in the Little Ice Age, when climatic conditions deteriorated. Bones from this late period were found to be in a condition consistent with malnutrition. Denmark attained possession of the moribund colony at the Treaty of Kiel in 1815. Norway occupied and claimed parts of (then uninhabited) Eastern Greenland in the 1920s, claiming that it constituted Terra nullius. Norway and Denmark agreed to settle the matter in the International Court of the League of Nations in 1933, where Norway lost. 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. During World War II, Greenland was on its own, the connection to Denmark having been cut 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. The manner in which Greenland had been run prior to the war was altered. The Sledge Patrol guarding the Northeastern shores of Greenland was founded in 1941 and participated in defeating the Germans, which gave Denmark a better position in the postwar turmoil. In 1953 Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. In 1979 Greenland took one step further when home rule was started. During the War Eske Brun was govenor 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 govenor Aksel Svane was transferred to USA as leader of the supply to Greenland commission. == Politics == Greenland's Head of State is the List of Danish monarchs|Danish Monarch, currently Margrethe II. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a ''Rigsombudsmand'' High commissioner representing the Danish government and monarchy. Greenland has a 31 member elected parliament. The head of government is the Prime Minister of Greenland|Prime Minister, who is usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. ''Main article: Politics of Greenland'' == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Greenland'' Image:Greenland_eastcoast.jpg|thumb|left|South-east coast of Greenland Image:Greenland_big.png|thumb|Map of Greenland All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the western coast. At least two scientific expedition stations had been established in the ice-covered central part of Greenland, on the icecap: Eismitte and North Ice. The extreme north of Greenland is not covered by an ice cap (indicated as pale blue in the map to the right), because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice cap. If the Greenland ice cap were to completely melt away, Greenland would most likely be 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 (3.2km) 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 climate change|consequences. == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Greenland'' 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 fishery is by far the largest income earner. Despite resumption of several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals|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 of GDP. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Greenland'' == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Greenland'' The Greenland National Museum and Archives[http://www.natmus.gl] is located in Nuuk. == Miscellaneous topics == *Communications in Greenland *Transportation in Greenland *Military of Greenland *Foreign relations of Greenland *List of universities in Greenland == See also == *Danish colonization of the Americas *History of Denmark *Danish West Indies *Tranquebar|Danish India == References == *CIA World Factbook 2000 == External links == *[http://dk.nanoq.gl/changelang.asp?lang=en Greenland Homerule] - Official site *[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gl.html Greenland] - CIA World Factbook *[http://www.statgreen.gl/ Statistics Greenland] {{Nordic Council}} {{North America}} Category:Greenland Category:North Atlantic Islands Category:Islands of Denmark Category:Special territories of the EU af:Groenland ang:Gréneland ca:Grenlŕndia cs:Grónsko cy:Grřnland da:Grřnland de:Grönland et:Gröönimaa es:Groenlandia eo:Gronlando fa:گرینلند fr:Groenland gl:Grenlandia - Kalaallit Nunaat id:Greenland ia:Groenlandia iu:ᐊᑯᑭᑦᑐᑦ it:Groenlandia he:גרינלנד kl:Kalaallit Nunaat la:Groenlandia lt:Grenlandija zh-min-nan:Chheⁿ-tē nl:Groenland nds:Gröönland ja:グリーンランド no:Grřnland nb:Grřnland nn:Grřnland os:Гренланди pl:Grenlandia pt:Gronelândia ro:Groenlanda ru:Гренландия simple:Greenland sk:Grónsko sl:Grenlandija fi:Grönlanti sv:Grönland tr:Grönland zh:格陵兰 First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Greenland is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. 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