Greenland

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Group.png Greenland   SourcewatchRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Flag of Greenland.svg
LocationNorth America
LeaderDenmark/Prime Minister
Typenation state
Greenland is the world's largest island and a self-governing territory of Denmark.

Greenland is the world's largest island located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers, as well as the nearby island of Iceland) for more than a millennium.

Population

The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century. They are concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.

U.S. military base

During the Cold War, the Arctic became ground zero for U.S. communications and surveillance operations designed to thwart a Soviet attack from the north. When the Cold War was over, military sites were abandoned and left to decay on the Arctic tundra. Contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), petroleum, radioactive waste and solvents, they still pose a toxic threat to local ecosystems. Krista Mahr writing for Frontline (PBS) in 2004, said that the U.S. signed a new pact allowing "a $260 million upgrade of the early warning radar system at the American military base at Thule, Greenland. It is part of the Bush administration's plan to implement the controversial SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative), or "Star Wars" antimissile defense system." [1]


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References

  1. Krista Mahr, "Greenland: Colin Powell's Glacier", PBS, November 9, 2004.


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