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Tabular Data - Geography of Greenland
| Location : |
Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
| Geographic Coordinates : |
72 00 N, 40 00 W |
| Map References : |
Arctic Region |
| Area : |
total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
| Area - Comparative : |
slightly more than three times the size of Texas |
| Coastline : |
44,087 km |
| Maritime Claims : |
territorial sea: 3 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
| Climate : |
arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
| Terrain : |
flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
| Elevation Extremes : |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
| Natural Resources : |
coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
| Land Use : |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2001) |
| Natural Hazards : |
continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
| Environment - Current Issues : |
protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
| Geography - Note : |
Dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap. |
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