Friday, February 6, 2009

Friday's Fact: Greenland



Because the coastline is made up almost entirely of numerous fjords, the Greenland coastline is approximately 24,430 mi (39,330 km) long, which is about the same length as the Earth's circumference at the Equator.

The weight of the massive Greenlandic ice cap, which covers over 80% of the surface, has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m (1,000 ft) below sea level. If this ice sheet were to completely melt, sea levels would rise more than 7 m (23 ft) and Greenland would most likely become an archipelago of islands with the central area completely under water.

2 comments:

Zan said...

Who knew!

IHateToast said...

that coastline=equator thing is far out. there. i'm done. they say you learn something new every day. that's it. no more. and it's only 7:47 am. sweet.

have you read about the failed viking colony there? fascinating stuff.

now i have that monty python song "finland" in my head but with greenland. THANKS!