Greenland Canada. Greenland - Green Country

The largest settlement of the island is Nuuk (Gothob), 16,992 people (2015). The city is located on a peninsula in the western part of Greenland.

extreme north point island, Cape Morris Jesup located just south of 84th latitude, was considered the closest land area to the north pole until the discovery of Kaffeklubben Island in 1900.

Greenland without an ice sheet

The southern point is located near the 59th north latitude.

Historical information

Geology

Greenland is located almost entirely in the northeastern part of the Canadian shield, only in the east and north are the zones of the Caledonian folding. The rocks that make up the shield are gneisses, quartzites, marbles and granites of the Archean and Early Proterozoic age, volcanogenic-sedimentary strata of the Middle Proterozoic age. The eastern zone of the Caledonides is separated from the shield by a deep fault. The areas of the Caledonian geosyncline are filled with terrigenous and carbonate strata of the Late Proterozoic and carbonate rocks of the Cambrian and Ordovician, folded into folds in the Silurian. In the Devonian, in the intermountain depressions, the accumulation of continental rocks took place. Since the end of the Paleozoic, it has been experiencing platform development. In the Mesozoic, sandy-argillaceous rocks were deposited. In the Cenozoic, Greenland uplifted, splits occurred, with which the outpouring of basalts is associated.

Minerals are confined to rocks of the Archean-Early Proterozoic age (cryolite in the south of Greenland; graphite, marble - in western Greenland); brown coal deposits are associated with the Mesozoic. Deposits of lead-zinc and uranium ores have been discovered in the eastern zone of the Caledonides. Oil and gas reserves have also been identified.

Glaciation and relief

The loss of ice at the edge of the shield, caused by summer melting and separation of icebergs, is not compensated by the accumulation of ice inside Greenland, and the glacier is shrinking quite quickly - from 2000 to 2008, the glacier decreased by 1500 gigatons, which is equivalent to an annual rise in the level of the world seas by 0. 46 mm. The water reserve in the Greenland ice sheet (2.5⋅10 6 km³) is enough to raise the level of the World Ocean by 7 m. Over the past 23 thousand years, due to the melting of the glaciers of Greenland, the level of the oceans has risen by 4.6 meters.

According to other data, scientists from the University of Buffalo showed that so far all these models were simplified and gave too optimistic estimates. To do this, Dr. Xato and colleagues analyzed a large amount of data obtained, firstly, from the NASA ICESat satellite, created and launched into orbit just for this purpose, and, secondly, from field studies in Greenland, carried out as part of project "Ice Bridge". In general, data from 100 thousand locations for the period from 1993 to 2012 were analyzed. An analysis of such an extensive and complete information showed that the Greenland glaciers behave more complicated than previously thought. While some of them are steadily melting, the thickness of the second, on the contrary, is increasing. And still others “pulsate” at all. All this depends on the most complex combination of factors - local climatic and hydrological conditions, the shape of the glacier, hydrology, and so on. In total, geologists from the University of Buffalo counted over 240 glaciers in Greenland with a width of 1.5 km or more, and divided them into 7 groups according to their behavior. It was a detailed approach. If we take the whole picture, it turned out that in fact from 2003 to 2009 (for this period there is the most complete data) the Greenland ice sheet lost 243 gigatons of ice, which led to an annual increase in the level of the world sea by 0.68 millimeters. .

Vegetation

The fossil entomofauna is represented by several dozen species of beetles and other insects, including the remains of the modern arctic beetle. amara alpina .

In the 2015 book ( Vilhelmsen, 2015) mentions an invasive cosmopolitan ant Monomorium pharaonis .

The first reports of insects on the island appeared in 1780 in the book Fauna Groenlandica". Its author is Otto Fabricius(1744-1822, a distant relative of the famous entomologist Johann Fabricius) described 470 species of animals, including 62 species of insects and 19 arachnids.

In Greenland, 290 species of ticks from the order Parasitiformes (mesostigmata- 63 species and 1 species - Ixodida) and squad Acariformes (Prostigmata - 94, Endeostigmata - 5, Oribatida - 110, Astigmata- 17). Widespread polyzonal forms predominate among Greenland mites (70%), while specialized cryobiont species (Arctic and arctomontane) are represented singly (4%), while non-Arctic elements predominate over invaders from Europe (ratio 1.5: 1). Among gamasid mites, only 25% are wide-range species, and the cryobiont element reaches 45%; at the same time, the ratio of species of Nearctic and Palearctic origin is 1:4.

Population

The main language of Greenland is Greenlandic. Also common

Greenland (Greenland, in the language of the local Kalaallit Nunaat) is the largest island in the world (the area of ​​Greenland is about 2 million square kilometers), almost completely submerged under a layer of ice. Greenland is the second ice cap on the planet after Antarctica. Suitable area for local residents is only the coastal strip of Greenland, which makes up about 19% of the entire area of ​​the island. However, despite the harsh living conditions, this place fascinates with the contrast of its nature, which undoubtedly attracts tourists.

From the air, the island seems completely uninhabited and lifeless. ice sheet. But as soon as you get to the ground, Greenland will appear in a completely different guise. All that diversity, all that mystery of these places will open before you. Coastal areas covered with green meadows, groves, flowers of all shades from purple saxifrage to yellow poppies and at the same time replacing them with the glaciers of Greenland, stretching throughout the central part of the island - this is a truly breathtaking sight that no traveler can resist .

Holidays and tours to Greenland

Undoubtedly, if you are going to visit a country like Greenland, you are a fan of outdoor activities. Tours of Greenland are hiking, trips to national transport- dog sledding water sports sports, mountaineering, skiing, hunting and fishing. All this requires good physical preparation and fortitude.

History of Greenland

Greenland in English means Green Earth (Green Country). At first glance, it is rather paradoxical, because a much larger part of the island is occupied by ice and it would be more reasonable to call this place the Ice Land. But… why Greenland? Let's plunge into history and try to find a logical explanation for this fact.

Despite the fact that the first settlers in Greenland were the Eskimos, who came from the Arctic islands and settled in the north of the country, the European Eirik the Red, who was expelled from Norway and Iceland for murder and went in 982 to little trip, during which he discovered Greenland, reaching its southern coast. There is also a less common version, according to which the Icelanders Gunbjorn Elffson and Snabborn Galti are the discoverers, who, according to some sources, discovered Greenland as much as 80-100 years earlier than Eirik, but never landed on the island. In any case, the author of the name of the island of Greenland is Eirik. In order to attract people to the island, he gave it a sympathetic name, especially at that time southern shores Greenland really was covered with green meadows.

The 13th-17th centuries in Greenland were a difficult time, during which the island experienced internal wars, severing ties with the outside world, cooling the climate and tightening living conditions - all this led to the practical extinction of the population and the island was forgotten. At the beginning of the 18th century, Denmark remembered Greenland, which in 1721 made the island its colony. And in 1953, Greenland finally became part of the kingdom and in 1979 received the status of autonomy, which allows it to conduct an independent domestic policy. Thus, Greenland has the right to its own government (Landsstyret) and its own parliament (Landsting - Landsting), consisting of 31 people, who chooses the executive body of local government. Greenland can also participate in the Danish Parliament (Folketing), which includes two of its representatives.

Coat of arms and flag of Greenland

Greenland has its own coat of arms and flag.

The coat of arms of Greenland is an image of a polar bear on a blue shield. The blue color represents the geographical position of Greenland (between two oceans), and polar bear, being one of the symbols of the island, characterizes the fauna of Greenland.

The flag of Greenland was adopted in 1985 and has a red and white flag, which symbolizes the political connection of the island with Denmark. The figures depicted on the flag of Greenland, according to one version, personify the setting and rising Greenland sun, according to the other, the red half of the circle is the fjords of Greenland, the white one is icebergs, the red and white background illustrates the ocean and the ice sheet.

Coins of Greenland

Greenland uses the currency of Denmark - the Danish krone and the Faroe Islands krone (limited), equal to 100 øre. Until 1967, Greenland had its own krone, different from the Danish one.

It is not difficult to guess that the main character of the Greenland coins was a polar bear. It was depicted on almost all Greenland coins that were issued between 1926 and 1967. The most memorable of these were the Greenland coins, issued in 1926, whose central hole was directly on the belly of a bear, which made these coins a frequent subject of jokes among hunters.

Other representatives of the island's fauna were often depicted on Greenland's banknotes: whales, seals, birds, etc. In 1953, rather sympathetic banknotes were issued with the image of the Danish polar explorer and ethnologist Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen.

In the future, Greenland plans to return to its crowns, which will differ from Danish ones only in the text in Greenlandic and the addition of Greenlandic motifs to the design. At the same time, it is planned to leave the Danish krone as a legal means monetary circulation in Greenland.

You can only exchange currency in Greenland privately and at a very unfavorable rate. There are only two banks here. Both change tourists' checks and accept credit cards Mastercard and Visa, which can be easily used by tourists in hotels and restaurants in Greenland. Most of the locals use credit cards here.

Map of Greenland, geographical location of the island

Greenland is located northeast of the mainland North America and is washed by the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Looking at the map of Greenland, one can easily notice that the southwestern coastal territory is the most populated. Washed by the warm West Greenland Current, the southwestern coast is the most accessible from the sea, in contrast to the northern and eastern ones, which are almost constantly blocked by floating ice.

The length of the island from north to south is about 2700 km, the maximum width is 1300 km. total area Greenland - about 2,000 thousand square meters. km. The surface of the glacier rises from the coasts towards the center of the island. The highest surface of the glacier is 3230 m above sea level. The volume of ice reaches colossal proportions. If the entire Greenland ice sheet were to melt, global sea levels would rise by about 7.4 meters.

The climate of Greenland is maritime, arctic and subarctic, on the glaciers - continental, on coastal zones- extremely variable. average temperature July above zero degrees. In the summer in Greenland, the temperature rises even to +20 C, but it can also be fixed at 0 C. In winter, on average, from -6 to -15 degrees. Intense cold mostly affects East Coast. Here, the temperature in winter drops to -45 C. The best time to visit the island of Greenland is the period of polar white nights - between May and July, if you are a fan winter holiday, it is most favorable to visit Greenland in April.

Population of Greenland

The population of Greenland as of 2008 is 56,462, which gives a population density of less than one person per square kilometer. The main peoples living on the territory of Greenland are the indigenous people - the Greenland Eskimos (on local language- Inuit) constituting about 90% of the total population. The rest are mostly Danes and other Europeans. The vast majority of the population lives in southwest coast, where the largest cities of Greenland are concentrated. The occupations of the population are most often hunting and fishing. official languages- Greenlandic and Danish, English is well developed among the intelligentsia.

Tourists need to be careful when ordering food national cuisine Greenland, which is famous for its unusualness and audacity. traditional food for the Greenlanders, raw whale, seal and walrus meat is considered, and the delicacy is a mixture of partridge droppings with seal fat ... A dish that is quite popular in these places, which includes narwhal fat, water, walrus brain and fermented grass extracted from the first stomach of a reindeer . Thus, the folk cuisine of Greenland, to put it mildly, is considered unsuitable for a European, and even more so for an aesthete.

Attractions, capital and cities of Greenland

The capital of Greenland - Nuuk (Gothob) - founded in 1728, is considered one of the most ancient cities of the island, administrative, cultural, political center Greenland. It is home to about 15,000 citizens. It is here that National Museum Greenland, which stores a variety of exhibits: from unique Eskimo mummies to works of folk art.

The city of Qaqortoq (Julianshob), which is the center southern territory country, is famous for the only fountain in Greenland, decorated with copper plates with the names of city dwellers and the famous sculpture "Stone and Man". Qaqortoq is considered the most beautiful of the cities in Greenland. You can learn more about the applied art of local residents by visiting the museum of this city.

Upernavik is the northernmost ferry island Greenland. According to local residents, without visiting this city, you will not know what real cold is - the summer temperature here does not exceed 5 degrees. And, of course, there is a museum here with an impressive collection of harpoons and kayaks of all kinds.

Undoubtedly, the sight of Greenland can be considered dog sledding, which is the most common transport for traveling through the beauties of these places. Dogs can take you anywhere, anytime, but by law dog sledding can only be used in cities beyond the Arctic Circle. Harness, of course, huskies. During such a trip, you will get great pleasure and a lot of exciting experiences, learn about the skill of driving dog sled and many nuances of these trips unknown to you before.

Definitely worth a visit small town Narsaq, where you can get the most full view about the life and way of life of the inhabitants of small towns in Greenland. An excursion to the preserved remains of Viking dwellings and places with a high concentration of the rarest stones and minerals will also be interesting here.

A well-known attraction is national park Greenland, which is located at the northernmost end of the island. The park is very difficult to access, both because of its geographical location, and because of the prohibition of access for third-party researchers. The park is famous for its rich wildlife (musk oxen, polar wolves, polar bears) and the diversity of arctic plants.

Denmark who owns Greenland owns this huge island for several centuries now. Until 1536 it was part of Norway. After Greenland went to Denmark, almost nothing has changed here for many generations. In 1979, the inhabitants of the island received wide autonomy from the government in Copenhagen.

History of the island

At first glance, it may seem that a huge north island- This independent state, but this is not the case at all. So who owns Greenland? Formally, it is part of the Danish kingdom, but it has its own authorities that manage the island much more efficiently than far European autonomy.

Since time immemorial, these uninhabitable lands have been of interest only to brave navigators and scientists. The island of Greenland was discovered by the Vikings, who were the first to visit here in the early Middle Ages. European colonies appeared much later. In the XVIII century, the Danish authorities began the construction of seaside towns, where fishermen and hunters mainly lived. This order continued for several centuries.

During the Second World War, it was occupied by the troops of Nazi Germany. When the US joined the Allies, the Americans began to build on free island bases, it was they who helped in the fight against the Wehrmacht. After the onset of peace, the authorities of the States and Denmark signed several documents stipulating the organization of the defense of the island. These arrangements were updated after Copenhagen decided to join NATO in 1949.

Relations with Denmark

Colonial politics European states gone when in the second half of the 20th century most of colonies declared independence (in Africa and other continents). Denmark, who owns Greenland, also did not escape these transformations. Greenland was too large and sparsely populated to create an effective state of its own. Therefore, it was decided to agree on autonomy, which suited both parties. The capital held referenda several times, in which the population of the island expressed their opinion regarding the future of the country.

Autonomy

Recent changes in legal status happened in 2009. Extended autonomy provided for many new things. For example, Greenlandic became the official language on the island. Local authorities have received new powers. Now they have become responsible for the courts and the police.

The small population of the island (56,000 people) gained complete control over natural resources. Many of them are located deep in the arctic bowels. Their development is a matter of the future. These are oil, gas, gold and diamonds that Greenland owns. Denmark retained control of foreign policy and printing money. The krone remains the official currency.

Denmark, who owns Greenland, often makes it clear that it will not resist if the autonomy wants complete independence. In this case, the island can become an independent Eskimo state.

Life in Greenland

The Danes did a lot to ensure that Greenland acquired all the infrastructure necessary for life. Missionaries and colonists founded several cities that are now administrative centers communes of the island. The capital Nuuk was built in the 18th century. Since then, its population has never exceeded 20,000 permanent residents.

The city is home to the only university on the island. There are also many churches left by Protestant missionaries. In Nuuk, as in other Greenlandic cities, the extraction of crabs, as well as halibut, is developed. Sea delicacies are sold all over the world, including in Denmark.

Greenland is also exotic place which tourists love to visit. Nuuk has a museum dedicated to the history of the island. However, many guests who come here buy tickets in order to admire the secluded nature of the harsh Arctic region with its unusual panoramas and beauties. On south coast Greenland's climate is mild enough for these latitudes due to the warm sea ​​current. But even here in summer the temperature does not exceed ten degrees above zero.

The issue of Greenland's jurisdiction was not born yesterday. For a long time it was relevant, and was the subject of controversy. different countries Scandinavian region.

After long discussions, this island became an autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland is located in the Eastern Hemisphere and is the most major island in the world.

The capital of Greenland is the city of Nuuk, located in the western part of the island. The island is practically uninhabited, since most of its area is eternal ice. The main population of Greenland are the Greenland Eskimos (Innuit).

A bit of history

It is believed that this unusual island was discovered by the Vikings, who were the first to visit here approximately in the 10th century. Until 1536, Greenland was part of Norway.

After some time, according to the so-called "Viking priority", it became owned by the Danish kingdom, which began the planned colonization of the island.

During World War II, the protectorate over Greenland was held by the United States and Canada. At the end of World War II, the island again belonged to Denmark.

The frosty climate did not allow immigrants from the mainland to live on the island for a long time. After some time, they were able to adapt to such climatic conditions.

Settlers who mastered new land Little by little, villages and even whole cities were built.

What is life like in Greenland?

The inhabitants of Denmark have made a lot of efforts to ensure that this island has an infrastructure suitable for life. The only university on the island is located in the capital Nuuk.

As in other settlements of Greenland in Nuuk, the extraction of crabs and halibut has been greatly developed. These seafood delicacies can be purchased not only in Denmark, but all over the world.

Despite the fact that the island of Greenland is not the warmest corner of the world, it is no less popular with tourists than mediterranean resorts. Nuuk has a museum dedicated to the history of this exotic island.

Greenland is translated as "land of greenery", which is a little inconsistent with its climatic conditions and shape. In the minds of many researchers, this is perplexing.

Nevertheless, despite the harsh climate, tours to Greenland are very popular. Resting in Greenland, tourists can get a lot of impressions from the local nature:

• White Nights;
• northern lights;
• thermal springs.

Beautiful colorful landscapes attract any traveler with their beauty.

Majestic glaciers, incredibly beautiful northern lights and good opportunity winter sports literally beckon people from all parts of the globe.

On our planet there are many of the most different states that differ in language, culture and other characteristics. But there are very few of those that are located on the islands, and are either separate countries or broad autonomies. The area of ​​​​Greenland allows us to consider it the largest isolated state to date, located on our planet. But this is not the only circumstance that stimulates tourists.

Basic information

Where is Greenland located? Its shores are washed immediately by two and the Atlantic.

The island is located close to the Eurasian continent. Theoretically, Greenland is integral part Denmark, but in fact it is a large autonomy that has fairly broad rights in the field of self-government. The basic information is:

1. The total area of ​​Greenland is 2,166,086 sq. km, but of all this "wealth" only 340 thousand km ₂ are suitable for life, since they have no ice.
2. The island is home to 57 thousand inhabitants, and 90% of them are Innuit, the "titular" nation, whose representatives have lived here since time immemorial. Therefore, the population of Greenland is quite homogeneous.
3. The capital is located in a city with an unusual name for a European, Nuuk.
4. Greenlandic has been the official language since 2009, before that it was supplemented by
5. The flag of Greenland is a red and white circle on the same background. The color scheme repeats the symbolism of Denmark.
6. the only official currency is the Danish krone.

If you want to call someone in Greenland then telephone code - (+299).

When was it opened?

But when this amazing island, in its weather hospitality capable of competing with Antarctica, was first discovered?

The first known mention dates back to 875. The Icelander Gunbjorn discovered the island. Interestingly, he only described his find, but no accurate maps and left no other instructions, since he did not go ashore. At that time, few people knew where Greenland was located, and this discovery did not arouse much interest. Times were turbulent then, the Vikings gradually conquered new territories...

Only in 982 on the shore of this amazing land for the first time another Icelander descended, Eirik Rowdy. It was he who gave the island its name. Thus, the active development of this area began.

Island colonization

In 983, the first Icelandic colonies were founded, which lasted until the middle of the 15th century! True, in fairness it is worth adding that the climate in those days was, oddly enough, milder. Therefore, Greenland was called the “green country” for a reason, because the summer lasted longer and the air temperature was higher.

So there were a lot of people who wanted to “move to permanent residence”. For four centuries (from the 13th to the 17th), this land belonged to Norway, but later went under Danish jurisdiction. In 1814, the Danes finally terminated the union (something like a unity agreement) with the Norwegians, and became the sole owners of the island. In 1953, Greenland was officially given the status of "Part of the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark", but the inhabitants of the "green country" themselves do not really agree with this.

The history of the colonization of the island by the Vikings is interesting and mysterious. From 983 until the middle of the 12th century they were very active, organizing many of their settlements. But then suddenly something happened, soon the settlements fell into disrepair, and the Vikings moved away from these shores. What happened?

Until recently, a lot of hypotheses were put forward, up to the most absurd ones. But a few years ago, climatologists managed to lift the veil of secrecy. As mentioned earlier, from the 10th to the 11th century AD, the climate on the island was much milder, the warm period lasted longer, and in some places along the coasts, according to ancient manuscripts, even wheat ripened. Then there was a sharp cold snap, because of which the Vikings preferred to leave here.

The political administration of this unrecognized country is carried out by the parliament and the prime minister. In addition, the people of Greenland have the right to choose two representatives who voice the interests of the islanders in the Danish parliament.

Official acquisition of independence

A referendum held on November 25, 2008 secured independence for this territory. The fact is that the population of the island spoke in favor of numerous and significant changes in legislation. In particular, it was then that Greenlandic became the only language, and the judicial and executive authorities acquired complete independence. Today, we can rightfully assume that the flag of Greenland is flying over an independent country. However, independence brought Negative consequences- Denmark has ceased to subsidize the island's economy more than 600 million dollars annually.

Officially, all the provisions of the referendum came into force in mid-2009, and since then the entire area of ​​Greenland has been in fact a full-fledged and relatively autonomous state. It is noteworthy that local residents do not develop relations with the European Union either.

Formally, the island still continues to be part of Denmark, but it is not part of the EU. Since its inception, the islanders have sharply opposed the prospect of joining a united Europe. This is explained simply: most likely, Greenland in this way defends the independence of its own fish resources, which, otherwise, both Norway and Denmark could immediately claim. Political situation in these parts is quite complex, and in some aspects even tense.

Economy and tourism

The economy of today's Greenland is based on fishing. Of course, there is hope for mining, as there are deposits on the island. Only tourism, which some supporters of the complete independence of this territory rely on, is poorly developed. The main reason is the harsh climate, and the cost of the tour does not cause much enthusiasm among tourists. So Greenland is a young country, but hardened by difficulties.

Air communication and other transport

In a place with complicated name Kangerlussuaq is the largest airport in the area, based in the area of ​​the US Air Force base of the times cold war. Despite the seeming modesty, the size of the airport is quite enough to accept even international flights.

In addition, you can get to the island using the services of ferries from Hurtigruten. Cities in Greenland itself are also interconnected by an extensive ferry network. If you need speed, you should use the services of a small air carrier Air Greenland, which owns several aircraft and a couple of dozen transport helicopters.

Roads for cars on a huge island - just nothing, about 150 kilometers (and even those in cities). In general, Greenland is not a car country. In total, about three thousand cars are registered here, mainly SUVs and off-road vehicles.

Big cities

Nuuk (in the distant past the city was called Gotthob) is the capital of Greenland, founded in 1728 by Danish missionaries. This is the most Big City an island where the local government is seated. The inhabitants of this amazing place they joke that it is here and summer residence Santa Claus. Given the location of Greenland on the map, there is a grain of truth in this statement.

Ilulissat (former name - Jakobshavn) is located on the shores of the bay with the "incendiary" name Disco. But this place is harsh, because clean water rarely seen due to the abundance of icebergs. By the way, at least 1/10 of all icebergs that can be seen in the coastal waters of Greenland are born in these parts. Perhaps this city is perhaps the only one that can boast of a regular influx of tourists.

This is due to the unreal beauty of the local icy mountains, which attract viewers from all over the world. Many tourists only because of this and found out where Greenland is located on the map.

Kangerlussuaq was founded near the glacier of the same name. This is where the most major airport in Greenland. Literally in the city limits, you can constantly observe whole herds of deer. Also, foxes are often seen on the streets. If you drive only 25 kilometers to the side, you can see the beautiful Russell Glacier.

Qaqortoq (the old name of the city sounds like Julianekhlob) was founded in 1775. More recently, not far from the city limits, archaeologists stumbled upon the remains of a Viking settlement with a church that dates back to the early tenth century. In the town of Unartok you can swim in hot thermal springs, as well as admire the exhibition of sculptures made from local stone.

Umanak is one of the most unique settlements in the snow-covered lands. It lies far beyond the Arctic Circle, but here the maximum number bright days. From May to August, the sun does not set at all in these places, and therefore tourists have a lot of free time that can be spent on a thorough inspection of the surroundings. IN small town there is a wonderful museum that contains many artifacts that tell about life in Greenland.

Attractions

It is not hard to guess that almost all local attractions have natural origin. For example, only here you can appreciate the size and grandeur of icebergs, one of which caused the death of the legendary Titanic. In general, Greenland is covered with ice by about 80%, and its thickness reaches three kilometers. Given that the area of ​​Greenland in sq. km is 2,166,086, it is not difficult to understand what a cyclopean amount of frozen snow is here!

Scientists have calculated that if only local ice(not to mention Antarctica), then the level of the World Ocean will rise by at least seven meters. And it seems that everything is going to this. But due to warming, scientists regularly manage to make unexpected discoveries: in 2005, researchers were able to find a new piece of land, which was called the “Hot Island”. It is located a couple of hundred kilometers from the coast of Greenland. Scientists suggest that over the past 20-30 years, the ice bridge that connected it to the island has simply melted.

Mount Gunnbjorn is located in the easternmost part of Greenland. Its peak towers over the island for more than 3.5 kilometers. And this is only the part that goes beyond the centuries-old thickness of ice! Nearby is the world's longest fjord, the Scoresby Sound. This strait bites into the thickness of the land at once for 350 kilometers!

Sermeq Kujaleq glacier. Perhaps, only for the sake of it you can visit the "green country". In 2004, UNESCO officially included this "ice" in the list But why such an honor? Given that the area of ​​Greenland in sq. km is quite large, and 80% of this is ice, isn't there a lot of attention to one glacier? It turned out that no, because it is really unique.

Its area is more than three thousand square kilometers, and annually more than 40 thousand cubic meters of ice breaks off from it into the waters of Disko Bay. The glacier itself looks like grandiose river from pure ice, which crawls on the surface of Greenland at a speed of about 40 centimeters per day. When the tip of the ice formation reaches Disko, the Greenland ice breaks off.

Climate in Greenland

The climate here is severe - arctic and maritime subarctic. In the center of the island, it is replaced by arctic continental. Complexities are added by cyclones, due to which the weather can change almost instantly. Here the temperature constantly “jumps”, and the winds change direction several times an hour. Since the ice in these parts covers an area larger than the whole of Great Britain, its exorbitant severity causes subsidence of the crust, so that the central parts of the island are 360 ​​meters below (!) The sea surface. Therefore, Greenland, whose climate is harsh and unstable, prefers strong-willed and hardy people.

weather characteristics

Winter is characterized by constant cyclones and rainfall. a large number precipitation. However, the temperature is quite acceptable: in December it rarely drops to -8 °C. In January, on the coast - from -7 ° C. The situation is different at the southern tip, where temperatures of -36 °C are constantly recorded in winter. In February, the weather does not indulge at all, reaching -47 ° C (the absolute minimum is -70 ° C). Simply put, some regions of Mars are significantly warmer!

The best time to visit these parts is from May to June. If you really want winter, but temperatures below -50 degrees do not appeal, you can plan a trip for mid-April. In the spring it is simply wonderful here: there are no frosts as such, and the northern tan is guaranteed. The air temperature rarely drops below -10 °C. What will delight tourists the most big Island- Greenland - in the summer?

Also snow, which is not rare here in June either. In summer, the weather here becomes completely unpredictable. Winds are frequent, reaching speeds of 60-70 m/s. Best time to visit the island - from mid-July to early September. The days are getting longer and the tundra is turning into an incredible a nice place: millions of flowers bloom here, delicious berries appear.

Still, for what period to plan the "discovery" of Greenland? The answer is obvious: it all depends on the weather preferences of tourists.