Which continent is Greenland a part of?

Geographically, Greenland is part of North America because it lies on the North American Tectonic plate. However, Greenland has long held strong cultural and political ties to Europe, and is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

With a total land area of 16 million square kilometres (836,330 square miles), including other offshore islands in the North Atlantic, Greenland is three times the size of the U.S. state of Texas, and is the world’s largest island.

Readers may be familiar with the expression “Iceland is green, but Greenland is icy”, and wonder how and why the island came to be called “green” in the first place. According to legend, Erik the Red founded the first Norse settlement in southern Greenland circa 986 (after being exiled from Iceland), calling it “Greenland” in hopes that the name would attract other settlers.

Today, researchers have discovered that the island was actually quite green at one time. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data, including DNA samples, indicate that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland enjoyed a relatively mild climate; trees and plants flourished, and livestock was farmed. In short, Erik may have indeed discovered a green land.

Because of its northerly location, today approximately 80% of Greenland is covered by a thick ice cap. The remaining area is home to about 56,000 people. As of 2020, the population was still concentrated mainly on the southwest coast.