Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat; Danish: Grønland) is the world's largest non-continental island, in the far northeast of North America, largely within the Arctic Circle. Although it's still part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it was granted self-government effective in 1979, with Copenhagen remaining responsible for its foreign affairs. The closest neighbouring countries are Iceland to the South-East, Canada to the West and Svalbard in Norway to the North-East.
Although maps with flat projections of the globe tend to make Greenland look the size of Africa, it is actually "only" about the size of Mexico. Greenland has the world's smallest population density.
It represents some 97% of the area of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Danish territorial claim is rooted in the 10th-century explorations of the Vikings, though administrative power has changed hands several times over the centuries due to developments in Europe. The native Greenlanders, or Kalaallit, are Inuit descendants of nomands from northern Canada. ("Eskimo" is offensive in some parts of the Artic.)
According to the Icelandic Sagas, Erik the Red chose the name "Greenland" to entice settlers from Iceland. In fact, Greenland has far more ice cover (about 84% of its immense surface area) than Iceland does. This may only be legend: the southern coasts the Vikings settled are green in summer, and were likely more so during the Medieval Warm Period.
Be careful with maps of Greenland, as many Greenlandic names simply reference a particular geographical feature. For example, "Kangerlussuaq" means "Big Fjord" and so is not only the Greenlandic name for Søndre Strømfjord.
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North America 
