什麼是格陵蘭

丹麥語作Gronland

格陵蘭語作Kalaallit Nunaat

北美洲東北部島嶼。世界最大島（澳大利亞除外），面積2,175,600平方公里，位於北大西洋。丹麥屬地。首府努克。2/3土地在北極圈內，其地貌特徵是廣大厚實的格陵蘭冰原，格陵蘭的經濟基礎爲漁業和採礦業，1989年發現了特大型金礦。格陵蘭人佔總人口的4/5以上，大多具有愛斯基摩人（或稱伊努伊特人）的血統。據說伊努伊特人以加拿大極地的島嶼作跳板，自北美渡海到達格陵蘭西北部。他們多次遷移，從西元前4000年一直延續到西元1000年。982年，挪威人埃裏克來格陵蘭定居。11世紀時，其子埃裏克鬆將基督教傳入格陵蘭。14世紀後期，格陵蘭在丹麥－挪威聯合控制下。原先的諾爾斯殖民地於15世紀消失。1721年，進入丹麥殖民時代。1776年，丹麥政府獨攬了格陵蘭的貿易活動。此後格陵蘭的海岸對外關閉，直到1950年纔再度開放。1953年，格陵蘭成爲丹麥王國一部分，1979年得內政自治權。人口約57,000（1991）。

Greenland

GreenlandicKalaallit NunaatIsland (pop., 1991 est.: 57,000), 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. Its capital is 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. More than four-fifths of the population are native Greenlanders, principally of Inuit (see Eskimo) descent. 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.