Island country, northeastern North America.
The world's largest island (excluding Australia), it covers 840,000 sq mi (2,175,600 sq km), is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, and is a dependency of Denmark. Population (2002 est.): 56,600. Capital: Nuuk . Two-thirds of the island lies within the Arctic Circle; it is dominated by the massive Greenland Ice Sheet . While fishing is central to the economy, there are commercial mineral deposits, including a large gold deposit discovered in 1989, as well as offshore oil exploration. More than four-fifths of the population are native Greenlanders, principally of Inuit (see Eskimo ) descent, residing in coastal areas. The Inuit probably crossed to northwestern Greenland from North America, along the islands of the Canadian Arctic, from 4000 BC to AD 1000. The Norwegian Erik the Red visited Greenland in 982; his son, Leif Eriksson , introduced Christianity in the 11th century. Greenland came under joint Danish-Norwegian rule in the late 14th century. The original Norse settlements became extinct in the 15th century, but Greenland was recolonized by Denmark in 1721. In 1776 Denmark closed the Greenland coast to foreign trade; it was not reopened until 1950. Greenland became part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953, and home rule was established in 1979. At the turn of the 21st century, scientists attributed the rapid melting of its ice cap to global warming.