Greenland

Geography

Greenland is an island state in the northern Atlantic Ocean at the Arctic Ocean. The land has a total area of 2,166,000 km² (836,297 mi²) and a total coastline of 44,087 km (27,394.4 mi). This land area is approximately 311% of the area of Texas. Greenland is thus one of the largest countries in the Americas and the twelfth biggest in the world. With 0.026 inhabitants per km² it is one of the most sparsely populated countries on earth.

Greenland lies at an average elevation of 1792 m above sea level and is therefore one of the highest countries in the world. The highest mountain peak (Gunnbjørns Fjeld) is at 3,694 meters. The island group consists of about 800 smaller and partly uninhabited islands. Greenland has no direct neighbours. The distance between New York City and the Capital Nuuk is about 2,980 km (1,852 mi).

The climate in Greenland

The country is much further away from the equator than Central Europe. This means that the winter days in Greenland are much darker, colder and also shorter. The country is under cold polar climate. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between -8 and 11 degrees. In some parts of the country the temperature raises up to 12 °C. In the colder months and depending in the region, the temperature lowers down to -14°C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for Greenland
• Tsunamis