Greenland- The Land Of Ice & Snow.pdf

Social Science Class 5 CBSE Chapter 6: Greenland- The land of ice and snow   

Greenland is the largest island in the world that is not a continent. Its capital is Nuuk. Nuuk’s earlier name was Godthab. Eric was the first European who visited Greenland and gave it its name.

Climate:     

Since the Arctic Circle passes through southern part of Greenland, it lies in the frigid zone of Northern Hemisphere. This region is also known as the tundra region. 80% of land is always covered with ice Icebergs- are huge pieces of ice that frequently break off and float on sea South-western coast- warmest part of the country where most of the people live

Vegetation and wildlife   

Since Greenland is mostly covered by snow, nothing grows here. No crops no forests. But some plants can be seen in summer season like: sedge, cotton grass, & lichen Animals that are found here are adapted to withstand extreme cold like: polar bears, reindeer, musk ox, arctic fox, wolf & seal, along with several fishes and sea birds

People       

The original people of Greenland are called Eskimos (or Inuits), they were hunters. They are nomads. Nomads are people who roam around throughout the year. They used animal fur & skin to make clothes, and used animal fat as fuel. For transport on land they used sledges pulled by dogs and in water they travelled on kayaks Igloos- temporary houses of Eskimos which were built from blocks of ice Parkas- warm jackets with hoods, that are lined with fur, which eskimos wear. Total population of Greenland is 56,000 (nuuk-15,500 &Holsteinsborg-5,500)

Agriculture and industry: Fish processing is the major industry in Greenland, apart from that small number of sheep are raised in the south-western coast, & a small part of land which is suitable for farming is used to grow vegetables like potato.