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| Greenland Sermersooq Nuuk sermitiaq nuuk vartegn by gumuken |
Greenland, a massive island and autonomous Danish territory between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, is about 80% covered in ice. Most of its small population lives along the ice-free, fjord-lined coast, particularly in the southwest. Its northerly position, largely above the Arctic Circle, results in natural phenomena such as summer’s midnight sun and winter’s Northern Lights.
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| Greenland Sermersooq Nuuk Winter sunset |
Greenland is the largest island in the world. Its northerly location, at the point where the Atlantic meets the Arctic Ocean, means that Greenland is surrounded principally by cold ocean currents, so the coasts are constantly being cooled. This, combined with the radiation of cold from the inland ice, gives Greenland its arctic climate. The ice cap or inland ice covers 1,833,900 square km, equivalent to 85 percent of Greenland's total area, and extends 2,500 km (1,553 miles) from north to south and up to 1,000 km from east to west. At its center, the ice can be up to 3 km thick, representing 10 percent of the world's total fresh water reserves.If all the ice were to melt, the world's oceans would rise seven meters.
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| Greenland Kitaa Nuuk isfjeld by gumuken |
Greenland is often associated with cold and darkness and it can, of course, get very cold. However, there is also plenty of light and, although the polar darkness often reigns (in Qaanaaq, the sun doesn't rise for a whole three months!), it is never totally dark. Greenland enjoys more hours of summer than anywhere down south, but the weather is nowhere near as warm, even though the light is much more intense. Greenland summers won't give you an all-over tan, but your face and neck will turn a beautiful shade of brown. The climate of Greenland is generally dry, and this means that the same temperature feels very different in Greenland from what it does in Europe. 10 - 15 C (50 - 60F) seems very warm, while -10C (-50F) seems a very pleasant temperature.
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Greenland Sermersooq Nuuk lillemalene med nordlys by gumuken
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