Greenland. Greenland is a North American autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the larger out of two autonomous territories within the Kingdom, others being the Faroe Islands; the citizens of both territories are full citizens of Denmark. As Greenland is one of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union, citizens of Greenland are European Union citizens. The capital and largest city of Greenland is Nuuk. Greenland lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the world's largest island, as well as the northernmost area of the world. Kaffeklubben Island off the northern coast is the world's northernmost undisputed point of land, and Cape Morris Jesup on the mainland was thought to be so until the 1960s. Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. Inuit arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century, after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. In the early 17th century, Dano-Norwegian explorers reached Greenland again. When Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland became Danish, and was fully integrated in the Danish state in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, which made the people in Greenland citizens of Denmark. In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted for the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under this structure, Greenland gradually assumed responsibility for a number of governmental services and areas of competence. The Danish government retains control of citizenship, monetary policy, and foreign affairs, including defence. Most residents of Greenland are Inuit. The population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, and the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of 56,583, Greenland is the least densely populated region in the world. 67% of its electricity production comes from renewable energy, mostly from hydropower. Greenland visible from space. Arctic sea ice is not shown. The early Norse settlers named the island Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland with his father, Thorvald, who had committed manslaughter. With his extended family and his thralls, he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it, supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The Saga of Erik the Red states: In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name. The name of the territory in the Greenlandic language is. The Kalaallit are the Greenlandic Inuit who inhabit the territory's western region. In World War II, the United States military used as a code name for Greenland, where they kept several bases named Bluie.
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