(Grønland), an island in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to the northeast of North America; the largest island in the world. Part of Danish territory. Area. 2,176,000 sq km. Population. 47,000 (1970).
Natural features,GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AND MINERALS. Greenland is situated almost entirely in the northeastern part of the Canadian shield; zones of Caledonian folding are developed only in the east and north. The rocks constituting the shield are gneisses, quartzites, marbles, and granites of Ar-chean and early Proterozoic origin that are covered, with unconformity, by volcanogenic sedimentary layers of the Middle Proterozoic era. The eastern zone of the caledonides is separated from the shield by a deep fault. The areas of the Caledonian geosyncline are filled with terrigenous and carbonaceous strata of the late Proterozoic era and carbonaceous rocks of the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, which were compressed into folds during the Silurian. Continental rocks accumulated in the intermountain areas during the Devonian. There was platform development at the end of the Paleozoic era and sandy-argillaceous rocks were deposited during the Mesozoic. Greenland was uplifted during the Cenozoic era, creating fractures with which the effusion of basalts is associated.
Useful minerals date from the Archean and early Proterozoic eras (cryolite in the south of Greenland, graphite and marble in the west). Deposits of lignite are associated with the Mesozoic. Deposits of lead, zinc, and uranium ores have been discovered in the eastern zone of the caledonides.
K. A. KLITIN
GLACIATION AND RELIEF. During the Quaternary period glaciation began that ultimately concealed a large part of Greenland under ice; glaciers cover 1,834,000 sq km (including 1,726,000 sq km covered by the glacial shield that occupies the entire interior and certain coastal regions of the island). The surface of the glacial shield rises gradually as one moves from the coast to the interior of the island. The highest section of the shield has the shape of a gently sloping arch, extending from north to south and divided into two vast domes by a transverse depression at about 66°-67°30’ N lat. The northern dome reaches an elevation of 3,300 m (at 71° N lat., 39° W long.), and the southern dome reaches an elevation of 2,730 m (at 64° N lat., 44° W long.). The bed of the glacier is concave. Elevation of the surface at its western edges is 600 m, in the east and in the southern dome it is 1,000 m, and in the center of the island it diminishes to 0–100 m (and in some places lower than sea level). The average thickness of the glacier is 2,300 m (maximum, 3,400 m). The volume of ice is 2.6 million cu km. The surface is covered with a layer of snow which, swept by the wind, forms snowbanks. Below 1,800–2,000 m the surface is broken up in some measure by streams of water that arise during the summer when the snow and ice melt, and along the edges (at elevations of 1,000–1,500 m) it is broken by crevices up to 30 or 40 m deep. The névé line on the glacier lies at an elevation of 1,200–1,500 m. The upper layers of ice shift from the center toward the western and eastern edges of the glacier at an average rate of about 150 m per year. The rate increases near the edges, and in certain sections the entire ice mass goes into motion and forms outlet glaciers—narrow oblong projections of the shield that move toward the ocean through the valleys. These glaciers move at a rate of 20–40 m per day and give rise to icebergs (as high as 100–135 m above sea level), which are carried into the northern part of the Atlantic and represent a great danger to navigation. The ice on the northern slope of the shield is almost immobile.
The eastern coast is washed by the cold Eastern Greenland current, so that it is blocked for almost the entire year by floating ice carried in from the central part of the Arctic Ocean. The southwest coast, which is washed by the warm waters of the Western Greenland current, is more accessible. The north coast of the island is almost always icebound. The coastline is strongly indented by long, deep fjords that reach as far as the edges of the ice sheet. The total length of the shoreline comes to 39,000 km.
The ice-free areas of land run in a continuous band, in some places as much as 200–250 km wide, along the shores of the island. The most important of these territories are found in the southwest and north of the island, high plateaus at elevations of 400–600 m alternating with mountain masses that reach elevations of 1,700–2,000 m. The east coast is characterized by ridges covered with mountain glaciers. The highest point in Greenland (and in all the arctic), Mt. Gunnbjorn (3,700 m), is found in one of these ranges (Watkins). In the west the ancient crystalline shield emerges on the surface, forming a broad but discontinuous belt of mountain masses and uplands along the coast of Baffin Bay.
CLIMATE. The coastal climate is marine, subarctic (south of 68° N lat.), and arctic; in the region of the glacial shield the climate is continental arctic. The island is frequently crossed by cyclones accompanied by strong winds, sharp changes in temperature, and precipitation. Negative values in the annual radiation balance are characteristic in the area of the glacial shield. Air cooling above the glacier causes the formation of anticyclones. The mean coastal temperature in January ranges from -7° C in the south to -36° C in the north; in July it ranges from 10° C in the south to 3° C in the northwest. At the center of the island the mean temperature in February is -47° C (absolute minimum, -70° C), and in July, -12° C. Annual precipitation in the south is 800–1,100 mm; in the north, 150–250 mm; and on the glacier, 300–400 mm (almost exclusively in the form of snow). The temperature from within the glacial shield itself to its bottom is below -10° C. The loss of ice along the edge of the shield through summer thawing and iceberg break-off is not compensated by the accumulation of ice in the interior, and the glacier is slowly becoming smaller.
FLORA. Vegetation in Greenland is confined to the ice-free regions. In the extreme south one encounters elfin birch woodland and thickets of mountain ash, alder, willow, and juniper, as well as sedge and grass meadows of various types. On the coast tundra predominates as far as 80° N lat., scrub tundra (dwarf arctic birch, bilberry, and crowberry) in the south, and moss-lichen tundra in the north. The far northern coast is sparsely vegetated arctic desert.
FAUNA. The reindeer, musk ox (in the north), polar bear, arctic fox, polar wolf, and lemming inhabit the shores of Greenland; the Greenland whale, the Greenland seal, and the walrus are among the animals inhabiting the coastal waters. There are 30 mammalian species in all. Among the birds the eiders, gulls, and willow grouse are particularly common. Commercially significant fish include cod, halibut, capelin, salmon, and shark; shrimp fishery is also important.
G. M. IGNAT’EV
Population. The population of Greenland in 1970 was 47,000, of which about 90 percent were Eskimo natives. This figure does not include personnel at US military bases (as much as 2,000–4,000). There was a rapid growth in the population (1945 population, 21,000) after World War II as the result of a reduction in mortality (to 8 per 1,000 inhabitants) and a sharp increase in the birth rate (to 50 per 1,000 inhabitants). More than 90 percent of the population is concentrated on the southwest coast of Greenland, which is the location of the largest population centers: Godthåb (administrative center; population, 5,000) Julianehåb, Holsteinborg, and Sukkertoppen.
Historical survey. The island was first sighted by the Icelandic sailor Gunnbjorn in about 875 A.D. Eric the Red, an Icelander of Norwegian origin, conducted the first exploration of the island in 982 and called it Greenland. In 983, Norman (Icelandic) colonies were founded in the south of the island, lasting until the 15th century. In the 11th century Greenland’s population, including the native Eskimos, accepted Christianity; the first diocese was formed in 1126. From 1262 until the beginning of the 18th century Greenland belonged in effect to Norway. In 1721, Denmark began to colonize the island, and in 1744 it established a state monopoly on trade with Greenland (which existed until 1950). In 1814, with the dissolution of the Danish-Norwegian union of 1380, Greenland was left to Denmark and remained its colony until 1953, when it was declared part of the Kingdom of Denmark. In April 1940, after Denmark was occupied by fascist Germany, the US government announced that the Monroe Doctrine applied to Greenland and on Apr. 9, 1941, the Danish ambassador in Washington signed the so-called agreement on the defense of Greenland with the American government (ratified by the Danish legislature on May 16, 1945). The United States began to establish military bases on Greenland. After Denmark entered NATO on Apr. 4, 1949, a new agreement between the Danish and American governments was signed (Apr. 27, 1951), according to which Denmark and the United States are jointly responsible for the defense of the island. In 1971 the United States had two military bases and other military installations on Greenland.
P. VASIL’EV
The exploration of Greenland was begun in the 17th century, carried on initially by the English and, after colonization of the island, by Danes and Norwegians. The first extended trip into the interior of the island was made by the Swede A. Nordenskjöld in 1883. In 1886 the Norwegians F. Nansen and O. Sverdrup crossed the southern part of the island. In subsequent years the glacier was crossed by the expeditions of R. Peary (1892–95), K. Rasmussen (1912–13), A. Quervain (1912), J. Koch (1913), and A. Wegener (1906–08, 1912–13, 1929–30). The most valuable information of the postwar investigations has come from the French expedition of P. Victor (1949–51) and Simpson’s English expedition (1952–54). In recent years there has been almost continuous research, including permanent observations of the ice sheet, by American and British scientists. An expedition from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR worked there in 1968 and 1969.
G. M. IGNAT’EV
Economy. Economic life is concentrated in the narrow coastal strip free of continental ice, which occupies about 15 percent of the total area of Greenland (primarily in the southwest of the island). During the colonial period trade with the native population, which engaged in trapping and hunting (seals and whales), was monopolized by a Danish state company. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, after the climate had warmed and cod came nearer the shores of the island, fishing became the principal occupation of the population. After the 1950’s capital investments in the economy increased. There is a program of economic development for Greenland (1966–75) that anticipates capital investments on the order of four billion Danish kroner. More than half of the economically active population is engaged in fishing and fish processing. The fish catch—primarily cod—is from 25,000 to 30,000 tons per year; the catch is exported in dried and salted form. There are several fish canneries, yards for repairing and building small fishing vessels, and netting and knitting factories. Sheep raising for meat and wool (24,000 sheep in 1969–70) and reindeer farming (about 4,000 deer) have also developed, and cryolite is mined.
M. N. SOKOLOV