Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Approximately **80% of Greenland's land area** (1.7 million km²) is covered by the **Greenland Ice Sheet** (GrIS), the second-largest ice body on Earth after Antarctica. The ice sheet reaches 3,000+ metres thick at its centre and contains ~2.85 million km³ of ice—enough to raise global sea level by 7.4 metres if melted entirely.
The remaining 20% consists of narrow coastal strips, particularly in the southwest (Kangerlussuaq, Nuuk), south (Qaqortoq), and northeast. These areas are ice-free due to lower elevation, warmer coastal currents, and precipitation shadows. They host all of Greenland's towns, agriculture, and infrastructure.
The ice sheet formed over hundreds of thousands of years from compacted snow. It flows slowly outward under its own weight, discharging ice via outlet glaciers (e.g., Jakobshavn, Helheim) and surface melt. Since the 1990s, mass loss has accelerated due to rising Arctic temperatures, contributing ~0.7 mm/yr to sea-level rise.
In addition to the main sheet, numerous independent ice caps and glaciers fringe the coast, covering ~76,000 km². These are more responsive to climate change and losing mass faster proportionally.
Greenland's ice is thus a critical component of the global climate system and a key indicator of planetary warming.