Greenland

Greenland is a North American island autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the larger of two autonomous territories within the Kingdom, the other being the Faroe Islands; the citizens of both territories are full citizens of Denmark. As Greenland is one of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union, citizens of Greenland are European Union citizens. In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland, making it an equal member of the Danish Realm. Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. It has a population of around 57,000 people, so is the least densely populated country.

It lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Atlantic Ocean borders Greenland’s southeast; the Greenland Sea is to the east; the Arctic Ocean is to the north; and Baffin Bay is to the west. The nearest countries are Iceland, east of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean, and Canada, to the west and across Baffin Bay. The capital and largest city of Greenland is Nuuk.  It is the world’s largest island that is not a continent in its own right, and is the location of the northernmost point of land in the world – Kaffeklubben Island off the northern coast is the world’s northernmost undisputed point of land. The total area of Greenland measures over 2,166,000 km² (c.836,000 square miles), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers over 1,755,000 km² (c.677,000 square miles) (81%) and has a volume of approximately 2.85 million km3. The coastline of Greenland is 39,330 km (24,430 miles) long, about the same length as the Earth’s circumference at the Equator. The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn at 3,694 metres (12,119 ft). However, the majority of Greenland is under 1,500 metres (5,000 ft) elevation.

At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established in the ice-covered central part of Greenland on the ice sheet: Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. Currently, there is a year-round station, Summit Camp, on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brøndlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world. The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to completely melt away, worldwide sea levels would rise by more than 7m and Greenland would most likely become an archipelago.

Northwest Greenland Coast – ©NASA/Michael Studinger Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the Western coast. The northeastern part of Greenland, which includes sections of North Greenland and East Greenland, is not part of any municipality, but is the site of the world’s largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.

Birding Greenland

Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European White Birch Betula pubescens along with Grey-leaf Willow Salix glauca, Rowan Sorbus aucuparia, Common Juniper Juniperus communis and other smaller trees, mainly willow species. Greenland’s flora consists of about 500 species of higher plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland’s higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.

Qinngua Valley, the only natural forest in Greenland – ©Svickova, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries. The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the Polar Bear, Reindeer (introduced by Europeans), Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare, Musk Ox, Collared Lemming, Ermine and Arctic Wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Whale species include the Beluga, Blue, Greenland, Fin, Humpback, Minke, Sperm, Pilot Whale and Narwhal. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island. As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic Salmon and Charr.

Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland’s animal life; they consist of both Palaearctic and Nearctic species, breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland’s ducks and geese include Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, King Eider, White-fronted, Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese. Breeding migratory birds include Snow and Lapland Buntings, Ringed Plover, Red-throated Diver and Red-necked Phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the Arctic Redpoll, Ptarmigan, Short-eared Owl, Snowy Owl, Gyrfalcon and White-tailed Eagle.