Comparing Greenland and Iceland Using the Five Themes of Geography
Location
The Absolute Location of Iceland is 64.9631° N, 19.0208° W, while the absolute location of Greenland is 71.7069° N, 42.6043° W. In terms of relative location, Iceland is just East of northern Canada and is situated in the North American continent. On the other hand, Iceland is considered part of the European continent even though it sits relatively close to Greenland. In addition, Iceland is West of Europe and is also in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Greenland technically sits in both the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean). Greenland faces the Baffin Bay to its West and the Greenland Sea to its East. Iceland, however, sees just the Norwegian Sea.
Place
Greenland and Iceland are both located in the arctic which allows them to be covered partially by permanent ice. They are both considered Islands, and they are both large islands compared to the rest of the islands on planet earth. However, Iceland takes the crown for largest island in the world by a longshot. While Greenland might sound as if it is full of greenery, it is actually the complete opposite. In fact, Iceland is not as icy as one might assume from its name. These countries actually experience quite the opposite amounts of permanent ice on their surfaces. Iceland consists of roughly 11% permanent ice while Greenland has approximately 80% of its landmass defined by ice landscape. This means that the total inhabitable space of these islands is more or less similar (even though Greenland is about 20 times the landmass of Iceland).
Despite being close on a map and sharing similar names, these two islands are quite different in terms of the people they inhabit. For example, while Greenland has a population of roughly fifty six thousand people, Iceland has about six and a half times more people (roughly three hundred and sixty four thousand) despite being only a 20th of the size of Greenland. In addition to population differences, the people who inhabit these areas are quite different. The inhabitants of Greenland are considered ancestors of the earliest settlers of the Island who are called Inuet people. Greenland also has a small percentage of Danish people that inhabit the island as well. On the other hand, Iceland’s people are descendants of the vikings who once sailed from the scandanavian countries years and years ago. This makes the people of Iceland generally tall, fair skinned, and light eyed, while the people of Greenland are shorter, have dark hair, skin, and eyes.
Human-Environmental Interaction
In Iceland, its geography has certainly shaped the way that humans interact with their environment. For one, Iceland is an Island, so generally speaking fishing is a way of life for a lot of its inhabitants. The same thing can be said for Greenland because it is also an island itself. Sports in Iceland consist of Ice Skating, snowboarding, and skiing because there is plenty of snow year-round for all residents to enjoy. This means that humans have created housing on the coastal parts of the island, and areas of higher elevation have ski resorts that feature lodges and ski lifts. Greenland also has a population that engages in these similar sports although they have much less people. Iceland has a high number of tourists that visit each year, mainly to see their marvelous natural geothermal hot springs and scenic landscape. The country of Iceland also has a focus on the seasonal meat industry as well as various types of agriculture. In terms of environmental impact, there is certainly carbon produced by fossil fuels used in planes, boats, and cars that drive through both Greenland and Iceland. Despite their pollution and species reduction through fishing, both Iceland and Greenland are home to some of the least polluted waters in the world
Movement
Iceland and Greenland share similar economies based on fishing, farming, and tourism. Most of the movement that occurs for both of these countries is from flights and boats that connect these countries to the goods, ideas, and influence of the rest of the world. One thing to keep in mind when considering the movement in these two islands is that they are both heavily reliant on boats for the shipments of goods and services. The majority of Iceland’s imports includes a variety of goods ranging from food to equipment and machinery. In Greenland, petroleum and machinery were among the few top imports from around the world.
Regions In terms of political governance, Greenland is considered to be a territory of the country of Denmark. Iceland, on the other hand, is considered to be its own country and is a part of the United Nations and the European Union. Despite these differences, both Iceland and Greenland virtually have complete governance of themselves. Because Greenland is a territory of Denmark, it has adopted a similar style government that is identified as a parliamentary representative demactatic dependency. In this government, there is a multi party system similar to the United States, and whereby the prime minister is similar to the president. Iceland, on the other hand, calls itself a constitutional republic and also consists of a multi party system similar to Greenland and the United states. Also, similar to the United States, a president is elected every four years (although Iceland utilizes popular vote). In Iceland, the island is broken into seven different regions, and according to Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, “Iceland is generally split into seven geographical regions, each differing slightly in its culture and landscape but all truly Icelandic. The different regions are South Iceland, East Iceland, North Iceland, the Westfjords, West Iceland, Reykjanes and Reykjavík or the capital area”. These regions both share similarities, but the author admitted that there are certainly slight cultural differences in the different regions.
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Works Cited
Haarberg, P., & Photograph by Pete Ryan. Nat Geo Image Collection. (2016, June 30). Is Iceland Really Green and Greenland Really Icy? Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/06/iceland-greenland-name-swap/
Rasmussen, R. (2019, August 07). Greenland. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenland
Matthíasson, B., & Karlsson, G. (2020, March 23). Iceland. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Iceland
How is Iceland governed? (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2020, from https://www.government.is/topics/governance-and-national-symbols/how-is-iceland-governed/
Sutori. (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2020, from https://www.sutori.com/story/five-themes-of-geography-reykjavik-iceland–uMTchTDWdALT8EtaKpTCLD6eHow is Iceland governed? (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2020, from https://www.government.is/topics/governance-and-national-symbols/how-is-iceland-governed/
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