What is the name of the largest island in the world? The largest island in the world. largest island states in the world

When people talk about the largest islands, they usually mean the islands with the largest area. Let’s not break tradition and give the top list of the largest islands in the world by area.

Let us remember that the island differs from the mainland in its smaller size, but it must be surrounded on all sides by water, and during high tide at least part of it must remain on the surface.

10 Ellesmere

Ellesmere is the tenth largest island on Earth. It belongs to Canada and is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

Ellesmere is all cut up by fjords and a third is covered with ice. Living conditions are very harsh: in winter the temperature reaches -59 degrees, and in summer it rarely exceeds +7 (although sometimes +20); The polar day and night last for 5 months, and there is so little precipitation that in many places there is not even snow, only bare rocks.

The population does not exceed 150 people. The vegetation is exclusively herbaceous; Blooming poppies, saxifrage and other polar flowers form a picturesque carpet in summer. There are many animals on Ellesmere, among them the rare Peary caribou and the Melville Island wolf (smaller, with white or silver fur).


This is another one northern island, owned by Canada. Still, it is not located in such high latitudes, so its nature is more diverse, and its population is larger (about 1,700 people).

The reason for this is high humidity: the entire island is covered with swamps, lakes, streams and rivers. In summer the temperature reaches +12, in winter - on average -20 degrees, and the wind is very strong and gusty, which creates extremely uncomfortable living conditions.

The vegetation on Victoria is sparse: grasses, polar tree species, mosses. But animal world presented perfectly. On the island you can find many birds, including snowy owls, as well as polar bears and wolves, arctic foxes and musk oxen.

Seals and walruses rest on the coast, and killer whales and whales walk in the waters off the coast of the island. There is also a lot of commercial fish (herring, tuna).

8 Honshu



And here in front of us is a quite densely populated island, main island The Japanese archipelago, on which the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun is located and about 75% of its population is concentrated.

This is where the most big cities Japan: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Yokohama. The entire island is covered with mountains, dominated by volcanoes (for example, Fuji, and Asama is active volcano), and it itself lies at the junction of formation plates, which provokes frequent earthquakes.

Destructive typhoons are not uncommon here in autumn. The climate of Honshu is defined as monsoon: in summer the temperature is about +25, in winter it is rarely below -5. The rainy season begins in June-July. The flora and fauna of the island are very rich. Forests cover more than 2/3 of the area.

In the spring, Honshu is extremely beautiful because of the blooming azaleas, sakura and peonies, and in the fall, the most favorite flowers of the Japanese bloom - chrysanthemums, to which a traditional festival is even dedicated.

The fauna includes many relict and endemic species: white-breasted bear, Japanese crane, giant salamander, large-billed crow and others. But Honshu is especially rich in fish and seafood, because 700 species of fish and more than 1000 species of shellfish live off the coast.

7 Great Britain is one of the largest islands on Earth



The island of Great Britain is a densely populated island, according to this indicator it ranks third after Java and Honshu. Most of the state of Great Britain is located here.

Scientists believe that the first people appeared on the island 800 thousand years ago: this is how stone tools found on its territory are dated. The ancient Romans mentioned Great Britain in the 3rd century BC.

The climate on the island is marine, which provides mild winters, comfortable temperatures in summer and more than half of the rainy days of the year. Although there are also areas that are much drier.
Forests and large animals in Great Britain, unfortunately, are almost exterminated: magnificent beech and hornbeam groves occupy no more than a tenth of the island.

Of the animals that have survived, mostly not very large mammals, but more than 130 species of birds and a lot of fish, as well as seals and whales

6 Sumatra


The hot tropical island, the sixth largest in the world, is at the same time the fourth largest in the number of people living on it.

The island is part of the Malay Archipelago and belongs to Indonesia. Sumatra is an extremely wet island. It has a huge number of rivers, streams, and lakes. This is where the most big lake South-East Asia- Toba. It is located in the caldera of an ancient volcano and is so large that there is an island on it, which also has a lake.

Sumatra is very rich in volcanoes: there are many of them, and a good dozen of them are active. However, this does not frighten numerous tourists who want to explore medieval buildings, go windsurfing or diving, and enjoy beach holiday on the coast, almost everywhere covered with dark (volcanic) sand.

And here you can walk in the equatorial forests of tree ferns, palms and ficus trees, marveling at the richness of the Sumatran fauna. There are many endemic species here. For example, the Sumatran tiger and rhinoceros, as well as the rare woolly wing, Indian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and others. There are even 450 species of birds on the island!

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5 Baffin Island



Listing the most large islands in the world, it is impossible to ignore Baffin Island, an island of large area and very bizarre outlines that belongs to Canada.
Baffin Island is essentially an extension (geologically) of the Canadian Shield, so the mountains on the island should be considered part of the Andes. And there are a lot of mountains here, including quite high ones.

The island is not rich in population: the climate here is harsh, a significant part of the island is located beyond the Arctic Circle, and frosts are common even in summer.

For a long time it was believed that Baffin discovered the island. But recent archaeological excavations suggest that the island was known to the ancient Vikings and is mentioned in their sagas under the name Helluland.

The harsh climate does not allow much vegetation to develop; the flora here is poor. Animals include arctic foxes, polar bears, lemmings, reindeer, polar hares and, of course, walruses and seals. The island is also affected by a large number of birds, including snowy owls.

4 Madagascar



When talking about which island is the largest in the world, it is impossible to ignore Madagascar, located near Africa and only recently emerged from the protectorate of France. Currently, the independent republic of Madagascar is located on the island, the government of which is constantly changing as a result of various shocks and military coups.

However, the history of Madagascar is also full of such events. There were attempts to seize the island by force, and various tricks. For some time, Madagascar was even a base for pirates robbing the ships of merchants hurrying to India.

The climate in Madagascar is tropical and monsoonal, which allows many plants to flourish, including many endemics. And the most famous is the fire tree (Royal Delonix) - a ten-meter tree of extraordinary beauty, strewn with bright scarlet flowers.
Among the animals there are also many endemic ones, for example the fossa - something between a puma and a mongoose.

Madagascar is also home to such interesting animals as lemurs (there are more than fifty species of them here!), bristly hedgehogs, chameleons, civets, turtles, a huge number of insects, fish (for example, the famous moray eels), and birds. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to swim here: the coast is full of sharks.

3 Kalimantan


The island of Kalimantan, which occupies third place in the ranking, is often called Borneo - after the name of the state of Brunei, which was once large and powerful, but now occupies only a small part of the island. The rest is shared between Indonesia and Malaya - Kalimantan is the only island on Earth, which belongs to three states at once.

Over the centuries, various parts of the island passed under the rule of one state or another; in different places and different time The British, Holland, and even Japan were noted here. It was only in the period from the middle to the end of the last century that the modern political status of Kalimantan was established.

The equatorial climate and high humidity are favorable for a huge number of plants and animals, many of which are endemic and have not yet been properly studied. Orchids and carnivorous plants, king cobra and reticulated python, proboscis monkeys and giant flying foxes - you can’t list them all!


A huge hot island in the Pacific Ocean is shared between the states of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The climate is equatorial, there are quite high mountains (up to 4900 m), and an impenetrable strip of mango forests stretches along the coast (it can only be crossed by canoeing).

New Guinea is rich in flora and fauna: there are 11 thousand species of plants (various palm trees, bananas, melon trees, etc.) and more than one and a half thousand animals, including marsupial badgers and birds of paradise. On the island, scientists found a place they called the “Garden of Eden”: there are many unprecedented creatures that are not at all afraid of humans.

1 The largest island is Greenland



Which country owns the most big Island in the world? Answer: Denmark. Greenland is its autonomy.

More than 80% of the island is covered by glaciers; From the west and east, outlet glaciers form (descending tongues into the sea), which give rise to icebergs. In the east of Greenland there is also the most high mountain Arctic - Gunbjorn. Its height is 3700 m.

The climate is not very harsh, but changeable: in winter the temperature can reach -11 degrees, in summer – about +20, but it is not uncommon for years when the thermometer never crosses zero during the entire summer!

Plants can be found in glacier-free areas. These are mainly meadows, crooked forests, and junipers. But polar animals, fish and insects are quite widely represented: walruses, whales, seals, polar bear, polar deer, seagull, shark and dozens of unique endemic beetles (700 species of insects in total).

As you know, an island is considered to be any piece of land completely surrounded by water. However, not all land areas that are in water can be classified as islands. In addition to the latter, there are also continents and continents, the most famous of which is certainly Australia. The total area of ​​this continent (not to be confused with the island) is approximately 7,600,000 square meters. km.

The TOP 5 largest islands in the world presented below include islands whose area is noticeably smaller than Australia, but no less impressive.

The largest islands in the world: Greenland

So, the largest island of our planet, whose name literally translates as “green country,” is Greenland. Located in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, 80% covered eternal ice, the autonomous Danish territory has a temperate climate and with total area 2,131,500 km². Known for its white nights, northern lights and local Eskimos, Greenland is also famous for its large reserves of natural resources (oil, gas). The main occupation of the island's 57 thousand population is fishing.

The largest islands in the world: New Guinea

The second largest island in the world by area is New Guinea. Washed by the waters Pacific Ocean The island, located between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, was discovered by the Portuguese in 1526. They also gave it its original name “Papua”, which means “curly” in Malay. The island owed its name to the dark-skinned aborigines with curly, thick hair who inhabited it at that time. Today New Guinea is a tropical island with a total area of ​​786,000 km2 and real paradise for tourists. Despite a large number of the most different types plants, birds, mammals and amphibians living on the island, scientists are still discovering new species of various representatives of the animal and plant world in New Guinea. It is worth noting that most New Guinea animals are not at all afraid of people, so they can be easily picked up.

The largest islands in the world: Kalimantan

It is not for nothing that Kalimantan takes an honorable third place in the TOP 5 largest islands in the world. This island, also known as Borneo, has an area of ​​737,000 km². Kalimantan is washed simultaneously by four seas and two straits. Unlike Greenland, 80% of Kalimantan's entire territory is covered by tropical forests. In this connection, the island’s timber industry is extremely developed and brings considerable income to the three states located on its territory. In addition to the forest, Kalimantan is also known for its large reserves of oil, gas and diamonds, the extraction of which has been actively carried out here for centuries, as clearly evidenced by the name of the island (translated from Malay, Kalimantan means “diamond river”).

The largest islands in the world: Madagascar

The fourth place in our ranking is the island of Madagascar, recently known from the cartoon of the same name. The entire territory of the island (587,040 km2) is occupied by the sovereign state of the Republic of Madagascar. The island is rich in minerals, including gold and iron rocks; more than 80% of all animals living in Madagascar are exclusively representatives of the local fauna. Due to the fact that for a long time the island was inhabited by a large number of wild boars, the local natives called it “Madagascar” (“Boar Island”).

The largest islands in the world: Baffin Island

Canada's largest island, Baffin Island, located west of Greenland, rounds out the TOP 5 largest islands in the world. And at the same time the most interesting places, where you need a wedding photographer for your personal event! Due to severe climatic conditions, despite its vast territory - 508,000 km², the population of Baffin Island is just over 11 thousand people. The island got its name from the famous English traveler and explorer William Baffin, who was the first to describe the island in the 17th century. An interesting fact is that, despite the ubiquitous human presence on the remaining islands, central part Baffin Island has still not been fully explored, which means that there are places on the island where no human has ever set foot.

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Before talking about what is the largest island on Earth, you should understand what an island actually is. Some people, when they hear this word, draw images in their minds resort areas, for example, Crete, the Maldives, Sicily, for others, pictures from action-adventure films immediately pop up before their eyes.

Small and large islands of the world really hold many mysteries and secrets, and new ones are still being discovered Interesting Facts about these pieces of land surrounded on all sides by water.

The largest island on Earth. Name

In total, there are over 500 thousand islands on our planet. They all have different sizes: some are tiny and some are simply huge. Do you know what the largest island on Earth is? Many people mistakenly believe that this is Australia. It would seem that everything is correct - this piece of land has an area of ​​7,600 thousand square meters. km and is surrounded on all sides by water. But still, Australia is considered to be not an island itself. Then what is Greenland, which is three times smaller in size than Australia, but larger in area than most modern countries. Below we will tell you more about it.

Greenland is the largest island on Earth (+photo)

The area of ​​this part of the land is 2130.8 thousand sq. km. The geographical miracle belongs to Denmark and could significantly increase the area of ​​the said country, but this is hampered by terrain and climate: more than 80 percent of the earth's surface is covered by an ice sheet. And this is not surprising, because Greenland is located in close proximity to the North Pole, and is washed by the waters of the Arctic and partially Atlantic Oceans. All this makes Greenland one of the most unusual, vibrant, majestic and beautiful places on our planet. The landscapes of the island are so beautiful that only few people can live there, since even in summer the air warms up to a temperature just above zero degrees. What can we say about winter, when frosts down to -50 Celsius are considered normal!

Nevertheless, harsh weather conditions do not stop tourists, and many come to the island to see with their own eyes majestic ice, observe the unique animal world of the harsh, but so beautiful Greenland. It is recommended to visit her in summer time, when in addition to everything you can also admire the white nights.

This is what it is - the largest island in the world. But on our planet there are many other significant areas of land surrounded by water. They are also interesting, so we will continue to look at the largest islands on Earth.

New Guinea

This is the second largest island (786 thousand sq. km) in the world. Unlike Greenland, it is located entirely in the Pacific Ocean, in its western part. Accordingly, the climate here is completely different. Tropics, rich and varied nature, warm and gentle sea - this is what New Guinea has to offer travelers. Interestingly, this island ended up being divided by two countries, which doesn't happen often. One plot belongs Papua New Guinea, and the other - Indonesia.

Of course, each state would like to have the entire island at its disposal, but even half is not bad! Scientists consider New Guinea to be one of the last places on the planet that has not yet been fully explored. Not long ago, an area later called New Eden was discovered on the island, with dozens of unknown or thought to be extinct plants and animals. And, what is most surprising, the inhabitants of the “Garden of Eden” were not at all afraid of people.

Kalimantan

Of course, when describing the largest islands on Earth, one cannot ignore this part of the land. Kalimantan has an area of ​​743.33 thousand square kilometers and, like New Guinea, is distinguished by the richness of its nature and the beauty of its landscapes. The island belongs to three states at once: more than 70% of the territory is controlled by Indonesia, almost the rest is owned by Malaysia, and only a small area went to Brunei.

Since Kalimantan crosses the equator, the climate here is appropriate: hot and humid. Most of the area (over 80 percent) is occupied by tropical forests, where they live. Now they have become more civilized and are happy to show tourists their martial dances and also sell souvenirs.

Madagascar

After the release of the animated film of the same name, everyone probably learned about Madagascar. Since then, this large island, with an area of ​​587,041 thousand square kilometers, has become the dream of a large number of travelers. It is spread out in Indian Ocean, and its main attraction and wealth are its amazing inhabitants, most of which are endemic, that is, not found anywhere else. These include numerous lemurs, chameleons, giant fossas, geckos, bats, and turtles. Zoologists and botanists are simply overwhelmed with delight when they come here and discover more and more new species of fauna and flora. Well, for those who are not very interested in the flora and fauna, it will be more interesting to enjoy the magnificent beaches of Madagascar!

Baffin Island

The five largest islands by area are closed by this inhospitable and cold part of the land, which covers 507,451 thousand sq. km). The climate here is similar to Greenland, it is just as windy and frosty, but at the same time attractive and bewitching in its severity. In addition to the few inhabitants, there are also people living here, and at least no one forbids you to think so! Baffin Island is famous for its mountain features: one of the world's highest cliffs, Thor, and the Asgard mesa.

Sumatra

It just so happens that some of the largest islands on Earth, if not entirely, then at least partially belong to Indonesia. So Sumatra, with an area of ​​473 thousand sq. km, is controlled by this country. This island is divided into almost equal parts by the equator; accordingly, it is located in two hemispheres of our planet.

Sumatra is located in the western part of the Malay Archipelago and is part of a group of large Sunda Islands. Coastline It is slightly indented here, and there are coral reefs near the coast.

Great Britain

The area of ​​this piece of land, surrounded by water, is 229.848 thousand sq. km. Like the other largest islands on Earth, Great Britain is very interesting to see. Scotland, England and Wales are located here. The coastline extends 966 kilometers from north to south, and the width of the island reaches 483 kilometers.

Honshu

This is the eighth largest island in the world (227.97 thousand sq. km) and the largest in the Japanese archipelago. It accounts for 60 percent of the area of ​​all of Japan. The terrain here is mountainous, so there are many volcanoes. The permanent symbol of the Land of the Rising Sun is also located here - Mount Fuji.

Every year new islands appear in the world, but the largest ones still remain in their places. Below is a list of the ten largest islands in the world by area.

Ellesmere – 196,236 km. sq.

Ellesmere is the northernmost Canadian island, with a total area of ​​196,236 km. sq. It is the third largest island in Canada and the tenth largest in the world. Despite its vast territory, as of 2006, only 146 permanent residents live on the island, in three settlements - Gris Fjord, Alert and Eureka.

Victoria Island – 217,291 km. sq.


Victoria is the second largest island in Canada and the ninth in the world (according to various sources it is the eighth or ninth). Located in the Arctic Ocean and located in the southwestern part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The island was named after Queen Victoria of England in 1839. It has a total population of 1,707 people (2001).

Honshu – 227,970 km. sq.


Honshu is the largest island in Japan (approximately 60% of the entire country's territory). Located south of the island of Hokkaido. The population of Honshu as of 2010 is about 100 million people, making it the second most populous island in the world (after the Indonesian island of Java).

Great Britain – 229,848 km. sq.


Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, stretching northwest of mainland Europe. 95% of its entire territory is divided between England, Scotland and Wales, which are part of the United Kingdom. It has a population of about 63 million people and ranks third in the world in terms of population after the islands of Java and Honshu.

Sumatra – 480,848 km. sq.


Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world. Entirely part of Indonesia. The number of inhabitants living on the island as of 2010 is more than 50 million people, making it the fourth most populous island in the world.

Baffin Island – 507,451 km. sq.


Baffin Island is an island that is part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. It is home to just over 11,000 people (as of 2007) in eight communities, the largest of which is Iqaluit.

Madagascar – 587,713 km. sq.


Madagascar is a large island located in the Indian Ocean, near east coast Africa. Although Madagascar is located close to Africa, the animal and vegetable world The island is unique - it contains 5% of all species of flora and fauna of the world, 80% of which exist only on this island.

Kalimantan (Borneo) - 748,168 km. sq.


Kalimantan or Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the largest island in Asia. Located in the center of the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia. Divided between Indonesia (73%), Malaysia (26%) and Brunei (about 1%). The island is home to one of the oldest tropical forests in the world. It has 19,800,000 inhabitants (as of 2010), most of whom live in coastal cities. The population density in Borneo is 26 people per square kilometer.

New Guinea – 785,753 sq. km.


New Guinea is the second largest island on earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Divided approximately equally between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The island's current population is approximately eleven million (2015). It has large natural reserves of oil, gold, copper and other ores.

Greenland – 2,130,800 sq. km.


Greenland is the largest island on Earth. Located in the northeast of North America and washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is part of Denmark as an autonomous unit. The population of the island as of July 2010 is 57,600 people.

There are hundreds of thousands of islands on our planet. They arise in the middle of rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and are surrounded on all sides by water. They could easily be compared to the continents, but the main difference between the islands is their size. They are all much smaller than continents. Which island is the largest on Earth? Where is he located?

The largest islands on Earth

Some islands are very tiny. For example, Pontikonisi in Greece or Visovac in Croatia do not exceed 200 meters in length. Others stretch for hundreds of kilometers, containing numerous cities and towns.

Islands are found in any body of water. In rivers they most often arise from accumulations carried by currents. In the seas and oceans they are formed due to volcanoes or the activity of corals. Alternatively, they may be part of the continental crust that rises above the surface of the water.

The largest island on Earth, Greenland, is also of continental origin. It covers an area of ​​2.130 million kilometers and is home to 56 thousand people. From geological and geographical points point of view it refers to North America, but administratively belongs to Denmark.

From largest island Greenland is the farthest north of the planet. You can see the rest of the world record holders in the table:

New Guinea

Papua New Guinea, Indonesia

Kalimantan

Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia

Madagascar

Madagascar

Baffin Island

Indonesia

Great Britain

Great Britain

"Green Country"

In Greenlandic, the name of the largest island on Earth is “Kalaalit Nunaat”, or “land of people”. But another name has taken root in the world - Greenland, or “green country”, which was given to it by Eirik the Red. Why the navigator called the island covered with ice green, no one knows for sure. However, there are several versions on this matter.

Eirik the Red is considered the discoverer of the largest island on Earth. He went there in 980, after being expelled from Norway and Iceland for committing several murders. He landed on southwest coast island, which in summer is covered with flowering vegetation. Seeing a lot of greenery on the seemingly icy land, the navigator came up with the appropriate name.

According to another version, Eirik liked the island so much that, upon returning from exile, he began inviting Icelanders there. To be more convincing, he gave it the name Greenland. One way or another, volunteers were found to develop the island. Under the leadership of Eirik the Red, they founded the first European settlement near modern Kassiarsuk.

Greenland

The largest island on Earth by area is only three times less than Australia and almost 50 times larger than Denmark. It is located between Iceland and Canada, washed by the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Most of Greenland is located beyond the Arctic Circle - a zone of permafrost and permanent snow. Only 137 days a year the usual change of day and night occurs here; the rest of the time you can observe the polar night or polar day.

It should have been called “ice land”, because 84% of the territory here is covered with ice. The non-melting cover reaches several kilometers in thickness. If it melted, the level of the World Ocean would rise by 6-7 meters. The largest glacier is Jakobshavn. At 7 kilometers per year, it is the fastest moving in the world.

Despite the abundance of ice, Greenland is not devoid of life. The island is home to many butterflies, spiders, beetles, partridges, gulls and eiders, deer, musk oxen, lemmings, polar wolves and polar bears. The surrounding waters are home to fish, shrimp, whales, seals and walruses.

Climate

The lands of the largest island in the world are covered with vegetation only near the coast. It is very poor and is represented by dwarf trees, mosses, lichens, heather and tundra grasses. This is not surprising, because Greenland has arctic and subarctic climate types. For the most part it is harsh, continental; near the coast it is softer, maritime.

On the coasts the weather is very unstable, snowstorms often form, winds blow, and precipitation occurs. The most favorable conditions are in the southwest of the island. There, average temperatures range from -7 °C in January to +10 °C in July, and fog often occurs in summer. It is coldest on the eastern and northern coasts, where the temperature drops to -35 °C.

Population

Greenland is one of the few countries in the world where the majority of the population is indigenous. About 90% of the population is Eskimo (Inuit), and only 10% is Danish and other Europeans.

The ancestors of modern Greenlandic Eskimos arrived on the island around the 13th century. Before that, it was inhabited by peoples close to the Aleuts and Chukchi, as well as the Vikings. But for some reason they all disappeared. Perhaps due to the inability to adapt to a sharply deteriorating climate (it is assumed that in the early Middle Ages it was much warmer).

Greenlandic culture is a mixture of Inuit traditions and European ones. Eskimos still believe in spirits and build houses from ice blocks and needles. Folk clothing is now considered festive. Seal skin capes have long replaced sports jackets, but many people wear national shoes.

Europeans brought writing with them, teaching the local Inuit. They built cities on the island and brought with them medicine, education and Christianity. With their arrival, some traditional Eskimo activities disappeared, but fishing and musk ox breeding remained. Many Inuit work in industry, transportation, and services.

Life in Greenland

The country covers not only the territory of the largest island on Earth, but also the adjacent islands: Ymer, Holm, Kun, Claverin, Eggers and others. It received autonomy within Denmark back in 1979. After a referendum in 2009, it received even more rights and opportunities for self-government. Official language is Greenlandic, but all citizens must also learn Danish. The currency used here is the Danish krone.

There is no Earth on the largest island railway tracks, there are no roads between cities. You can get from one point to another by airliner or ship. There are other options, such as snowmobiles or dog sleds.

All settlements on the island are located on the southern and western coasts, on a narrow strip between the eternal ice and the ocean. The largest of these is the capital Nuuk, which has a population of 16,500.

Greenland is considered the most sparsely populated country. But this does not prevent her from being one of the world leaders in suicide. Approximately every fourth resident of the country attempts to commit suicide.

Attractions

Endless ice of bizarre shapes, winding fjords and drifting icebergs. If this is not enough, don’t worry, Greenland still has something to boast about. On the largest island on Earth is the largest national park in the world. Its area is 970,000 km2.

Tourists are offered to explore the local fjords and see how icebergs are “born” at passenger ships, and there are always kayaks for extreme sports enthusiasts. All year round Greenland offers skiing and snowboarding, sledding and ice climbing. On the island you can see northern lights. Best time for this purpose it occurs in December and January, when the polar night falls on Greenland.

Having enjoyed everyone natural beauties islands, you should go to the city of Nuuk. In the capital you can see typical Greenlandic architecture, visit museums, and most importantly, meet Santa Claus himself. Here, on the shores of the cold Baffin Sea, is his home.