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Greenland |
With its 57,637 people Greenland is the 203rd largest country in the world by population. It is the 13th largest country by area with 2,166,086 square kilometers. Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Greenland voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs in June 2009. Denmark, however, continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs, security, and financial policy in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government.
Check out the recommended reading list below for great sources of information on Greenland.
Greenland & The Arctic (Lonely Planet Travel Guides)
Etain O'Carroll
This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
Gretel Ehrlich
The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change
Philip Conkling
Greenland - The End of the World
Damjan Koncnik
An African in Greenland (New York Review Books Classics)
Tete-Michel Kpomassie
Lonely Planet Iceland, Greenland & the Faroe Islands
Graeme Cornwallis
1. Greenland and Northpole Travel Reference map 1:3M/1:9M
International Travel maps
Trekking in Greenland: The Arctic Circle Trail (Cicerone Guides)
Paddy Dillon
Greenland Expedition: Where Ice Is Born
Lonnie Dupre
Lonely Planet Arctic (Lonely Planet Greenland & the Artic)
Deanna Swaney
