Geography of Greenland
Greenland is the largest island in the world, covering an impressive 2,184,700 square kilometers (843,517 square miles). It stretches 2,700 kilometers (1,660 miles) from the southern tip, Cape Farewell, to the northernmost point at Cape Morris Jesup, and it's approximately 1,000 km wide. Covering latitudes between 59°N-83°N, and latitudes between 11°E-74°E, Greenland dominates the Atlantic Arctic.
To give perspective, that distance is about the same as the length of the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States, from Florida to the US-Canada border. At its widest point, from Disko Bay in the west to Scoresbysund in the east, Greenland spans 1,300 kilometers (808 miles).
Greenland's formation dates back millions of years. Interestingly, it was once part of Africa but began drifting north around 439 million years ago. As it moved closer to the North Pole, about two million years ago, the colder climate produced massive snowfall, leading to the formation of the thick inland ice sheet that covers much of Greenland today. This slow shift continues, as Greenland is still moving westward by about two centimeters each year.
Facts about Geography of Greenland
- Arctic
- Greenland
A not so green...land
Around 80% of Greenland, or about 1,799,850 square kilometers (694,926 square miles), is covered by ice. The weight of this massive ice sheet has pushed the central part of the island’s bedrock below sea level by roughly 250 meters (820 feet). In some areas, the ice is more than 3.3 kilometers (2 miles) thick, meaning that the central part of Greenland's is below sea level. The total volume of the ice sheet is a whopping 2.7 million km3, which corresponds to about 7 % of the Earth's total freshwater resources.
This ice sheet is one of the most significant features of Greenland’s landscape and plays a crucial role in the global climate system.
Coastlines and fjords
Greenland's huge coastline is among the longest on Earth, and is indented with thousands of fjords, islands and skerries. A combination of the hard ancient bedrock of the island along with extensive glacial action over the island has created this maze-like coastline over the past 1.8 million years or so.
The majority of Greenland’s small population lives along these coastal areas, where the land is free of ice, making life possible in this otherwise frozen world.