Location:
Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada

Geographic coordinates:
72 00 N, 40 00 W

Map references:
Arctic Region

Area:
total: 2,166,086 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 2,166,086 sq km (approximately 1,710,000 sq km ice-covered)
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 13

Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
44,087 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive fishing zone country ranks ]

Climate:
arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters

Terrain:
flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast

Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,792 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn Fjeld 3,694 m

Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas

Land use:
agricultural land: 0.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 0.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 99.4% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
NA
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
settlement concentrated on the southwest shoreline, with limited settlements scattered along the remaining coast; interior is uninhabited

Natural hazards:
continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island

Environment - current issues:
especially vulnerable to climate change and disruption of the Arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting

Geography - note:
dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast; close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice sheet after that of Antarctica covering an area of 1.71 million sq km (660,000 sq mi) or about 79% of the island, and containing 2.85 million cu km (684 thousand cu mi) of ice (this is almost 7% of all of the world's fresh water); if all this ice were converted to liquid water, one estimate is that it would be sufficient to raise the height of the world's oceans by 7.2 m (24 ft)