Five Themes of Geography Part 1

For my final project, I chose to discuss Greenland and Iceland. I thought they would be great to explore because as a child I had the hardest time distinguishing between the two. Greenland and Iceland are commonly mixed up because of the irony of their names. As is evident on the maps below, Greenland is mostly covered in ice and Iceland is predominately green. I was also particularly curious to find out what it would be like to live in either of these countries. From my limited previous knowledge, I knew that the living conditions and cultural customs would be like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. After finishing the project, I can say I would be honored to visit either country. 

Map of Greenland

Map of Iceland

Location

One thing that can sometimes make it difficult to distinguish Iceland and Greenland is that they’re neighboring countries located in the Arctic Region. They’re also both islands. Relatively, Greenland is located above and to the east of Canada. As you can see in the above maps, it lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. Its absolute location coordinates are 71.7069° N, 42.6043° W. Iceland is located directly to the east of Greenland, which you can see in the 1st map above. Iceland is actually the westernmost country that is still apart of Europe. Its location coordinates are 64.9631° N, 19.0208° W.

Place

Some of the most fascinating differences between Iceland and Greenland can be found by researching their physical and cultural features, which is known as the Place theme of geography. Physically, Greenland is a 2,166,086 sq km island. To give you an idea of the size, that’s more than three times the size of Texas. In fact, Greenland is the world’s largest island that isn’t a continent. However, of that area, only 410,449 sq km is free of ice, which means that 1,755,637 sq km is covered in ice.  When you hear about the country’s climate, it begins to make sense why the island is 81% ice-capped. Its climate is described as being arctic to subarctic, which means that they have cool summers and even colder winters. Because the weather is so harsh, the land isn’t capable of growing crops. However, Greenland does produce numerous different natural resources like coal, hydropower, zinc, lead, fish, and iron ore. Iceland, on the other hand, is less than a 20^th of the size of Greenland. Its area is only 103,000 sq km. I find it interesting that despite Iceland being a fraction of the size of Greenland; its population of 317,351 people is over 5 times the size of Greenland’s. Most of Iceland's population lives in the capital city Reykjavik.

Reykjavik, Iceland
Source: cntraveller.com

Greenland only has a population of 57,728 people, over a quarter of which live in the capital city Nuuk. Similarly to Iceland, the rest of the population is spread among other coastal settlements. 

                                                                                                     

Nuuk, Greenland
Source: theodora.com

This population difference is largely due to the climate difference. Because of the North Atlantic current, Iceland has a more temperate climate. Their winters are still chilly and can be windy, but they are definitely milder than the ones in Greenland. The summers in Iceland are fairly warm, which helps to maintain the lush green landscape. One of the reasons Iceland is popular for tourists is because of its beautiful glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, hot springs, and active volcanoes. Iceland has 130 volcanic mountains, including Hekla, Eldgjá, and Eldfell. There are geysers located throughout the island that help provide locals with the natural resource of geothermal power. If you'd like to read more about how the country utilizes it's geothermal power, I'd highly recommend reading this article:  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/iceland-geothermal-power/.

Strokkur Geyser in the middle of erupting
Source:newworldencylopedia.org

Iceland's largest glacier, Vatnajökull, is also one of Europe's largest ice-caps. It's roughly 8200 sq km, which is a little less than the size of Puerto Rico. In fact, Vatnajökull National Park covers about 13% of Iceland's land mass.

Vatnajokull Glacier in Iceland
Source: visiticeland.com 

Culturally, Greenland is heavily influenced by the Inuit ethnic group, whose descendants make of 89% of the population. The other 11% is made up of Danish and other European migrants. The average life expectancy for the population is 72.4 years. They speak primarily Greenlandic and Danish. Although Greenland is technically part of North America, it's government is tied in with Denmark because it was part of the European Union until 1985. Greenland is partially self-governing but Denmark is still in charge of issues concerning financial policy and foreign affairs. 84.7% of the population is urbanized, but the country boasts a 100% literacy rate. Both Icelanders and Greenlanders widely practice the Evangelical Lutheran religion. However, much of the Greenland population also has traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs that stems from their ancestors. Iceland's population is almost entirely urbanized. Descendants of Norse and Celts make up 94% of Iceland's population. Because of this, the main languages spoken are Icelandic, English, and Nordic languages. The life expectancy of the entire population is 83 years, which is about 10 years longer than the life expectancy of Greenland. 

Human Environment Interaction

Fishing boats in Greenland
source:arcticjournal.com

The environment of Greenland can be harsh and extreme for some, but Greenlanders have found ways to adjust and thrive in such conditions.They’ve adapted to their icy surroundings and non-arable soil by learning how to fish for both food and income. In fact, Greenland is extremely dependent on the environment because exporting of fish and shrimp is vital for the economy. Some people describe fishing as the lifeblood of Greenland, like the author of this article. It's an interesting read about their economy. http://arcticjournal.com/opinion/1683/fishing-its-not-just-industry-its-our-lifeblood
Most Greenlanders are descendants of the Inuit and carry on the cultural tradition of hunting. The hunting of seals, caribou, reindeer, and walruses help to supply a hearty diet and provide skins for warm clothing. Greenlanders have also adapted to the terrain by using dogsleds to navigate the icy tundra. Icelanders are definitely in the hands of the island's environment because it's situated on top of a volcanic hotspot. Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge tectonic plate which means that earthquakes are a concern. Residents have to be prepared for a volcanic eruption, especially from it's two most active volcanoes; Grimsvoetn and Hekla. Here's more information about the likelihood of of an eruption from Hekla: http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/nature_and_travel/2016/07/16/hekla_iceland_s_most_dangerous_volcano/ 

 

Hekla: one of Iceland's most active volcanoes
Source: icelandmonitor.mbl.is

Unfortunately, Icelanders have also harmed the environment by polluting water from fertilizer runoff. This is detrimental not only for the environment, but for the fishing industry as well. 

                           Movement                                       

As we’ve already discussed, Greenland is primarily covered in ice and the rest of the terrain is quite rugged. Unfortunately, this can make transportation a little difficult. The only roads that exist are located within settlements; there are no roads that go between the towns. In fact, there are only 150 km (90 miles) of roads in the entire country, less than half of which are actually paved. During summer months, you can travel to different settlements by taking a boat around the coast. A popular passenger ship is the Sarfuq Ittak. 

Sarfuq Ittak
Source: visiticeland.com

In winter months, dogsleds and snowmobiles are also a very common form of transportation. For longer journeys, people can rely on Air Greenland to travel between towns. The movement of ideas between people is somewhat limited. Greenland Broadcasting Company supplies the news and entertainment through TV and Kalaallit Nunaata Radio. Newspapers are only dispersed weekly and even that can sometimes be delayed because of weather conditions. There is internet available for use, but the only service provider is Tele Greenland. While the land is still rugged, the use of personal cars is much more prevalent in Iceland because there are 12,869 km of road. It's quite popular for tourists to rent cars and go on driving tours of the beautiful island. Biking is also common for traveling shorter distances. Iceland has excellent bus services that will take you to all major towns and activities. However, there are no railroads located in Iceland. If you're looking to travel to other towns or islands, it's likely that you'll take a ferry from a major seaport, like Reykjavik or Grundartangi, or travel in an airplane to one of Iceland's 96 airports. Iceland's communication is more digitized and advanced than Greenland's. They have an advanced telephone system, satellite-earth stations, and fiber-optic cables that allow for a wide broadcast network. There are both public and private radio stations and news networks that provide both national and local coverage. 

Region

Iceland is broken down into eight different regions; South Iceland, East Iceland, North Iceland, Westfjords, West Iceland, Reykjanes, Reykjavik, and the Highlands. Each of these regions has a lot of similarities in both landscape and culture, but they also each have traits that make them unique. For example, East Iceland is where you can find the largest forest and lots of farmland. The Westfjords, which is the north-west corner of Iceland, is more isolated and uninhibited than the rest of the island. This has allowed the region's wilderness to be untainted. This is where you'd want to travel to in order to see animals, like the arctic fox, in their natural habitat. The South is known for its waterfalls, glaciers, and culture. The Highlands are full of rocky mountains and volcanoes. It's thought of as being the more rugged region. In fact, because the inland part of Iceland used to be hard to reach, outlaws would hide out in the highlands to avoid being caught. 

Regions of Greenland
Source: greenland.com

Greenland is divided into six different regions; North Greenland, National Park, Destination Arctic Circle, East Greenland, Capital Region, and South Greenland. The Capital Region is characterized as being more urban than the rest of Greenland. East Greenland is isolated and known for being the most mythical region. You can find carvings on rocks depicting urban legends. Destination Arctic Circle is home to the only road to the Arctic Circle, which is a famous dog-sledding route. Anyone that's looking for adventure would travel to this region. South Greenland is the greenest region. It has the most farmland and agriculture than the other regions. North Greenland is the complete arctic experience. It's covered in glaciers and icebergs. Each region of this Greenland provides something uniquely special for anyone that gets to visit. 

Iceland and Greenland are two completely different islands just happen to be confused for each other quite often. Iceland is a geologically active island full of volcanoes and geysers. Greenland is a vast icy tundra with rocky coastal towns and dogsleds. However, all differences aside, I think everyone can agree that both countries are full of natural beauty and are rich with culture. 

Sources:

"The World Factbook: GREENLAND." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

"The World Factbook: ICELAND." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

"Greenland vs. Iceland." - Country Comparison. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

"North America/." Map, Map of Greenland, Flags and Geography of Greenland - Worldatlas.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

"Europe." Map / Map of Europe - Facts, Geography, History of Europe - Worldatlas.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Evans, Andrew. "Is Iceland Really Green and Greenland Really Icy?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 30 June 2016. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

"Aerial View, Nuuk, Greenland Photo." Aerial View, Nuuk, Greenland Photo. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.


"Vatnajökull National Park." Visit Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.


"Greenland." Greenland - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.


"Iceland On The Web." Vatnajokull - Iceland On The Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

"How to Get around - Read about Transport in Greenland." Read about Transport in Greenland. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

"Regions and Territories: Greenland." BBC News. BBC, 10 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

"Iceland." Iceland - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.

"Hekla, Iceland's Most Dangerous Volcano?" Iceland Monitor. N.p., 16 July 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.