Greenland

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Greenland

The geography of Greenland is quite ironic considering its name. Greenland is

Located in the northern part of North America. It is between the Arctic Ocean and the

North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada. Greenland's area is approximately 2,715,600 square kilometers. Its area is slightly more than 3 times the size of Texas. It is the largest island in the world. It is also primarily by the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay and from Iceland on the east, by the Denmark Strait.

Greenland's terrain is flat to a gradually sloping icecap. It covers everything but

a narrow, mountainous, rocky coast. It's climate has cool summers and very cold

winters! During the summertime in the southern part of Greenland, the average

Temperature is 48° Fahrenheit. The climate of Greenland is generally dry. People have

lived on Greenland for about 5, 000 years, the earliest belonging to what are called the

Independence I, Saqqaq, and Independence II cultures. Greenland is the source of

many weather changes in the Northern Hemisphere. Their natural resources include

Zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals and whales. The

mammals include the musk-ox, wolf, lemming, and reindeer. Circumpolar animals that

inhabit the island are the polar bear, arctic fox, polar hare, and stoat.

The environmental issues consist of protecting the arctic environment and preservation of their traditional way of life, including whaling.

The population of Greenland is 59, 827 people. They are called Greenlanders and the majority religion is Evangelical Lutheran. Their languages include Eskimo dialects, Danish, and Greenlandic (An Inuit dialect.). The age structure is 0-14 years --26%; 15-64 -- 68%; 65-? -- 6%. The total life expectancy is male --65.98 years and female -- 74.24 years. The total life expectancy population is to 70 years.

The capitol of Greenland is Nuuk (Godthab). Its population is 12,483. It is the largest and oldest Danish settlement on the island. It was founded in 1721.

Other settlements include Julianhåb (Qaqotorq), Frederekshåb and Narsaq on the southern coast. With Thule on the northwestern coast, and Ammassalik on the eastern coast.

Greenland's dependency status is very reliable on Denmark. It has a self -- governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979. The national holiday is the birthday of the Queen, April 16, 1940.

Its legal system is Danish, and the chief of state is Queen Margarethe 2 of Denmark (represented by High Commissioner Gunnar Martens.

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