The map above shows an somewhat interesting geographical fact: Greenland is farther east, west, north, and south than Iceland.
However, Iceland does have almost 6 times the population of Greenland (334,252 vs 56,186).
Want to learn more about Greenland? Have a look at these books:
- An African in Greenland
- This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
- Greenland History and Culture, Tourism and Travel Guide
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David Rowat says
That looks like a Mercator projection. If you look at a globe, you will see that Iceland is just barely further east than Greenland.
PATRICK RUSHTON says
It would be nice to see the lines drawn so they were following great circle paths for a more accurate representation.
Dude says
Mercator preserves longitude. Only latitude experiences warping. So yes greenland on a globe is still further east than Iceland. And considering that point of Greenland is very close to the pole, using a Mercator projection just makes it easier to see.
Ryan says
Using Google Earth, you can see that the easternmost point of Greenland is at roughly 11°16’W and the easternmost point of Iceland is at roughly 13°30’W.
francis eauze says
Another “interesting” fact: Edinburgh is actually west of Cardiff.
Compare Cardiff Central Railway Station (Caerdydd Canolog) to Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station, both of which lie in a very central position in each city, and note their coordinates:
Cardiff – 51.4755°N, 3.1780°W; Edinburgh – 55.9521°N, 3.1893°W.
i.e. Edinburgh is further west than Cardiff.
Jonas Alsayeed says
Why decide to put the Welsh translation for one but not the Gaelic for the other?
Gerry Myerson says
There are many other pairs of places where one is farther East, North, West, and South than the other. Japan bears that relation to both Koreas. Mexico and Belize. Italy and Slovenia. Saudi Arabia and both Kuwait and Qatar. Ethiopia and Djibouti. Senegal and Gambia. Malaysia and Brunei. Ukraine and Moldova. India bears that relation to Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. China bears that relation to Taiwan, Mongolia, and Bangladesh. And Russia bears that relation to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Finland. Also, there’s Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and there’s Quebec and both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. And there are others….