The story is that Erik the Red named the ice covered Greenland and the green covered Iceland that way to attract settlers to Greenland and dissuade them from coming to Iceland.
In this episode of Fun with Maps host Dan Hanson looks at that story about naming the largest island in the world, Greenland. (Isn’t Australia bigger? Watch and find out).
Many are surprised that Greenland is part of North America and part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland is 80% covered with ice and has historically, and currently, been affected by changes to the climate.
After the US bought Alaska from Russia in the 1860’s, Secretary of State William Seward tried to buy Greenland and Iceland. Congress voted it down. Other attempts by the US to buy Greenland have also been rejected.
