US President Donald Trump’s fixation with Greenland has once again put the world’s largest island back in the spotlight. So, what exactly makes this remote Arctic land so fascinating and so strange? Here are some of Greenland’s most unusual, surprising and downright unbelievable facts.
1. The world’s largest island that isn’t a continent
Greenland covers about 2.16 million square kilometres, making it the biggest island on Earth, larger than many countries. Australia doesn’t count here because it’s considered a continent, leaving Greenland in a category of its own: vast, icy and sparsely inhabited.
2. The name “Greenland” was basically Viking marketing
The island was named by Erik the Red, a Norse explorer exiled from Iceland around 982 AD. Historians believe he called it “Greenland” to attract settlers, even though much of it was frozen. The southern coast was greener during a warmer period, and scientists have found evidence that parts were once forested.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
3. It holds a scary amount of water
More than 80 per cent of Greenland is covered by ice, including the second-largest ice sheet on Earth after Antarctica. If it fully melted, global sea levels could rise by around seven metres. Even the ice-free parts are enormous, roughly the size of Sweden.
4. One of the emptiest places humans live
Despite its size, Greenland has only about 57,000 residents, making it one of the least densely populated places on the planet. Most people live along the coast, especially in the colourful capital Nuuk, while the vast interior remains almost completely uninhabited.
5. The sun disappears, and then refuses to set
Above the Arctic Circle, Greenland experiences extreme daylight cycles. In summer, the midnight sun means continuous daylight for weeks. In winter, parts of the island sink into months of polar night, when the sun barely rises at all.
6. The world’s largest national park with almost no visitors
Northeast Greenland National Park is the largest on Earth, covering an area bigger than many countries. With no permanent civilian settlements and only occasional visitors, it remains one of the most remote protected wilderness areas on the planet.
7. Boats matter more than cars
Greenland has almost no roads linking towns. In fact, there is no road network between settlements, so travel is mostly by boat, helicopter or plane. For many Greenlanders, the sea is the main highway.
8. In some places, sled dogs outnumber people
Sled dogs remain essential in remote areas, especially in the north. In some communities, dogs even outnumber residents. They are still used for transport and hunting, and remain deeply tied to Greenland’s culture and way of life.
9. Sharks here can live for centuries
Greenland sharks are among the longest-living vertebrates ever discovered, with lifespans estimated at 400 years or more. Some sharks swimming today may have been alive in the 1600s, moving slowly through the dark Arctic depths like living fossils.
10. Greenland is drifting away, literally
Geologically, Greenland is slowly moving westward by about 2.5 centimetres a year, drifting farther from Denmark. It’s an ironic detail given Greenland’s growing push for greater autonomy.
11. In polar bear country, guns are part of life
In remote settlements, residents are legally advised and in some areas expected to carry rifles when travelling outside town limits because of polar bears. If a bear threatens human life, it can be shot, but every incident must be officially reported and investigated.
12. Time zones don’t mean much here
Greenland spans four time zones, but most people follow just one. With months of daylight in summer and long darkness in winter, daily life depends more on nature than on the time.
13. Greenland’s national dish is not for beginners
Traditional Inuit foods include kiviak — seabirds fermented inside a seal skin and buried for months. It may not be Instagram-friendly, but it reflects survival cuisine shaped by one of the harshest environments on Earth.
14. The Cold War left a secret city under the ice
In the 1960s, the US built Camp Century, a base carved under Greenland’s ice sheet. Officially, it was for research. Unofficially, it was linked to Project Iceworm, a plan to hide nuclear missiles beneath the ice. The tunnels proved unstable, and the base was abandoned, but parts of it may re-emerge as the ice melts.
15. A US plane crashed here carrying nuclear bombs
In 1968, a US B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs crashed near Thule Air Base after an onboard fire. The weapons did not detonate, but radioactive material spread across the ice. One bomb was never fully recovered, fuelling decades of rumours about a “lost nuke” buried somewhere in Greenland.
16. Greenland once made the Earth hum for nine days
In 2023, scientists detected a strange seismic pulse repeating every 90 seconds for nine days. The cause turned out to be a massive landslide-triggered tsunami in a Greenland fjord. The trapped wave sloshed back and forth inside the narrow channel, sending vibrations across the planet.
17. Vikings arrived, then vanished without explanation
Norse settlers built thriving communities in southern Greenland around 1,000 AD, with farms and churches. Then, by the 1400s, they were gone. No clear records explain why. Climate cooling, isolation and conflict have all been suggested, but it remains one of the Arctic’s great historical mysteries.
18. Ancient mummies were found in a rocky crevice
In 1972, hunters discovered eight remarkably preserved mummies at Qilakitsoq, dating back about 500 years. Their clothing, tattoos and burial practices offered rare insight into early Inuit life and added an eerie layer to Greenland’s silent fjords and folklore.
Mazhar Farooqui
Mazhar Farooqui, or Maz, is a multiple award-winning investigative journalist and Senior Editor at Khaleej Times. Renowned for exposing corruption and uncovering major scams, he is also the author of The Maz Files: Scoops, Scams & Showdowns.
www.khaleejtimes.com (Article Sourced Website)
#Trumps #Greenland #fascination #strange #facts #worlds #biggest #island