About Greenland
- It is the world’s largest (non-continent) island located between the continents of North America and Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- It is geographically considered a part of the North American continent.
- It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north; by the Greenland Sea to the east; by the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast; Davis Strait to the southwest and Baffin Bay to the west.
- Greenland was once a Danish colony and is now an autonomous province of Denmark.
- Climate: Greenland is in the polar zone, where winter temperatures reach as low as -50°C and summer temperatures rarely exceed 10–15°C. Due its size, however, temperatures can vary considerably from one part of the country to another.
- Highest Point: Gunnbjorn’s Fjeld
- Capital: Nuuk
Why does it matter to the USA?
- Its strategic importance rose during the Cold War, and the US has a large air base there, the Pituffik Space Base, earlier the Thule Air Base. From Greenland, the US can monitor and prevent any missile coming towards it from Russia, China, or even North Korea.
- Greenland is rich in rare earth minerals, which are used in mobile phones, electric vehicles and other consumer electronics, but also in bombs and other weapons.
- As global warming leads to melting of ice, new waterways can open in the Arctic region, and all major powers are keen to boost their presence here.
- The US would want to pre-empt a larger Russian or Chinese role in Greenland and its neighbourhood.
Q1: What are the rare earth elements (REE)?
These are a set of seventeen metallic elements. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table plus scandium and yttrium.
News: IE
Last updated on Dec 26, 2024
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