Climate: arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters
Terrain: flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point : Gunnbjorn 3,700 m
Natural resources: zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales
Land use: arable land : 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 0% other: 99% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island
Environment - current issues: protection of the arctic environment;
preservation of their traditional way of life, including whaling; note
- Greenland participates actively in Inuit Circumpolar Conference
(ICC)
Environment - international agreements: party to: Whaling (extended through Denmark) signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography - note: dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast