In the seas and oceans occupying the most part of a surface of our planet, great variety of islands. Is among them large, with a large number of the population, the large cities and the developed economy, there are also absolutely tiny. The biggest island in the world is where Arctic and Atlantic oceans merge. It is the island of Greenland.
Green earth
In spite of the fact that in translation the word "Greenland" is meant by the "green earth" one cannot say that all island was covered with greens. More appropriate the name "white earth" would seem to those who got here for the first time. There are several versions why Greenland is called quite so. On one of legends, Vikings for the first time saw this island in the summer when along coast the green strip nevertheless is. There was it in the X century when the Arctic tribes inhabiting Greenland before disappeared from the island.
Situation and environment
The area of Greenland is 2,130,800 sq.km. The most part of the territory is covered with ices all the year round. However, thawing of glaciers of Greenland is observed recently, and there is this process pretty fast. Nevertheless, the ice board occupies still most part of the island, rising to the center a high flat dome. The dome is divided into two parts – southern and northern. In the middle there passes the hollow. The highest point of a board makes 3,300 m. There is it in a northern part. In the south the glacial board will be spaced from the coast on more than two hundred kilometers.
Continent, next to the island – North America. Greenland is washed by two currents, warm and cold. The east Greenland current even in rather warm season brings floating ices from the Arctic Ocean therefore navigation in this part of the island is complicated. Southwest is more available to a part of the island because nearby there passes the warm West Greenland current. The coastline is cut fancifully up, on the island a set of the narrow deep fjords reaching sometimes a glacial board. The northern part of the island which is called Peary Land is also free from ices.
Climate, plants, animals, population
Climatic conditions of Greenland are quite various. The most mild climate – in a southwest part of the island. Temperature and is almost identical in the winter in the summer, about 9 °C. In this part of the island sometimes there is a summer when temperature reaches 21 °C. Osadkov drops out very much. In the north even in summer months the stem of thermometer seldom rises above 0th °C. Flora of Greenland is not too various. On coast the krivolesye meets (in the South and the southwest). Here the birch, an alder and other deciduous trees and also a juniper grow. Bushes grow in a northern part mainly. On the coast also meadows, mainly cereal meet. In process of removal from the coast the deciduous woods are replaced by the tundra. The fauna of Greenland is characteristic of the subpolar countries. There live a deer, a musk ox, a polar fox, a seal, a lemming and other inhabitants of northern latitudes. The population of Greenland makes less than sixty thousand people. The largest city – Nuuk where there live fifteen thousand people. The population is engaged in mining (graphite, marble, lead and uranium ores), hunting, fishery. The island belongs to Denmark. Inhabitants speak in two languages - Danish and Greenland.