Hareem Sarvar
5th C, DPS, Budgam
Hi friends!
Today I am going to give you some information about Greenland
The island of Greenland lies near the North Pole. Its northernmost point is just 650km from North Pole.
It is the world’s largest island.
Inuit’s, the people of Greenland call the island “KALAALLIT NUNAAT” which means Land Of People.
CLIMATE
The climate of Greenland is Arctic, which means freezing cold.
SUMMER
Summers are cool, with average temperature of 7 degree Celsius
[45 degree Fahrenheit]
In summers, the sun does not set even at midnight. This happens for months together. Therefore, the area is called “The Land Of Midnight Sun”
WINTERS
The sun does not rise above the horizon. The sun is not seen for several weeks, there are days of continuous darkness. There is heavy snowfall in the region.
GEOGRAPHY
Native Inuits [earlier called Eskimos] came to Greenland from North America, some 1000 years ago. In 982 A.D, Eric the Red, a Norwegian explorer, sailed from Iceland to Greenland. After spending three years on the island, he came back to Iceland, the nearest European country.
Greenland has an area of 2, 175,000 sq. km.
The capital of Greenland is Nuuk [or Godthab]
In 1953, Greenland became the part of The Kingdom of Denmark.
In 1979, Greenland became self-governing with its own parliament, though; Denmark continues to control the islands foreign affairs.
LIFE AND CLOTHES
The Inuit’s use narrow boats called kayaks for fishing and hunting sea animals. Umiak’s are wide boats on which family rides are done.
The Inuit’s wear water proof boots made with seal skin called mukluks. Jackets made with seal skin and containing hoods of fur are also worn .They are called parkas.
The life in Greenland is very tough and islanders have to brave the chill throughout the year.
Next time I will bring some more interesting facts about some other topic of interest.