Greenland
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
2,130,800km²
Area
34,327km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
3,694m
Highest point
Gunnbjørn Fjeld
76,186
People
1°C
Warmest sea
August
113km
To the mainland
When to go to Greenland
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (1 °C) and coolest in March (-1 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean
Greenland is an island in Greenland. It covers 2,130,800 km², with 34,327 km of coastline. Its highest point, Gunnbjørn Fjeld, rises to 3,694 m. About 76,186 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 113 km away.
Getting there
- Nuuk International Airport (GOH)main airport (5 on the island with scheduled flights)
- 113 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Greenland.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Greenland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Greenland, each with its own numbers.
10beaches and covesCoastya
106lakesLakeyas
1waterfallCascadyas
Largest lake
143km²
Romer Lake
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
19.7°C
Eqalugiâta Taserssua
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
5.0°C
Agssuatungá
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
10 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Pandora Havncove0.8°C
- Sandvigencove4.8°C
- Qagssitcove4.1°C
- Ungôrsivikcove4.6°C
- Agssuatungácove5.0°C
- Grytvikacove2.0°C
- Utsûssatcove2.8°C
- Lumskebugtencove0.8°C
2 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
106 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Romer Lake143km²
- Sælsøen135km²
- Furesø123km²
- Blåsø79.2km²
- Giesecke Sø76.0km²
- Kangaarsuup Tasersua75.4km²
- Centrum Lake71.2km²
- Tasersuaq (Nuuk)64.9km²
98 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Qorlortorsuaq
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
1,000 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Nuuk14,798 people
- Ilulissat4,413 people
- Qasigiannguit1,081 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -33 | -34 | -32 | -25 | -17 | -10 | -9 | -12 | -20 | -27 | -31 | -34 |
| Night low (°C) | -40 | -40 | -39 | -33 | -25 | -18 | -16 | -20 | -26 | -32 | -38 | -40 |
| Sea (°C) | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 21 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 25 | 31 | 26 | 24 | 21 |
| Wet days | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 2.9 | 6.5 | 13.1 | 18.6 | 21.8 | 17.2 | 12.3 | 7.5 | 3.9 | 1.9 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.9 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2022 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.4 | −0.6 | −0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.5 | −0.7 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −0.9 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 |
| 2025 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q4148644) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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