Biggest island in the world. The largest islands on our planet by area

27.09.2019

When people talk about the largest islands, they usually mean the islands with the largest area. Let’s not break tradition and give the top list of the largest islands in the world by area.

Let us remember that the island differs from the mainland in its smaller size, but it must be surrounded on all sides by water, and during high tide at least part of it must remain on the surface.

10 Ellesmere

Ellesmere is the tenth largest island on Earth. It belongs to Canada and is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

Ellesmere is all cut up by fjords and a third is covered with ice. Living conditions are very harsh: in winter the temperature reaches -59 degrees, and in summer it rarely exceeds +7 (although sometimes +20); The polar day and night last for 5 months, and there is so little precipitation that in many places there is not even snow, only bare rocks.

The population does not exceed 150 people. The vegetation is exclusively herbaceous; Blooming poppies, saxifrage and other polar flowers form a picturesque carpet in summer. There are many animals on Ellesmere, among them the rare Peary caribou and the Melville Island wolf (smaller, with white or silver fur).

This is another one northern island, owned by Canada. Still, it is not located in such high latitudes, so its nature is more diverse, and its population is larger (about 1,700 people).

The reason for this is high humidity: the entire island is covered with swamps, lakes, streams and rivers. In summer the temperature reaches +12, in winter - on average -20 degrees, and the wind is very strong and gusty, which creates extremely uncomfortable living conditions.

The vegetation on Victoria is sparse: grasses, polar tree species, mosses. But animal world presented perfectly. A variety of birds can be found on the island, including polar owls, and polar bears and wolves, arctic foxes and musk oxen.

Seals and walruses rest on the coast, and killer whales and whales walk in the waters off the coast of the island. There is also a lot of commercial fish (herring, tuna).

8 Honshu

And here in front of us is a quite densely populated island, main island The Japanese archipelago, on which the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun is located and about 75% of its population is concentrated.

7 Great Britain is one of the largest islands on Earth

The island of Great Britain is a densely populated island, according to this indicator it ranks third after Java and Honshu. Here is located most of states of Great Britain.

Scientists believe that the first people appeared on the island 800 thousand years ago: this is how stone tools found on its territory are dated. The ancient Romans mentioned Great Britain in the 3rd century BC.

The climate on the island is marine, which provides mild winters, comfortable temperatures in summer and more than half of the rainy days of the year. Although there are also areas that are much drier.
Forests and large animals in Great Britain, unfortunately, are almost exterminated: magnificent beech and hornbeam groves occupy no more than a tenth of the island.

Of the animals that have survived, mostly not very large mammals, but more than 130 species of birds and a lot of fish, as well as seals and whales

6 Sumatra

The hot tropical island, the sixth largest in the world, is at the same time the fourth largest in the number of people living on it.

The island is part of the Malay Archipelago and belongs to Indonesia. Sumatra is an extremely wet island. It has a huge number of rivers, streams, and lakes. This is where the most big lake Southeast Asia - Toba. It is located in the caldera of an ancient volcano and is so large that there is an island on it, which also has a lake.

Sumatra is very rich in volcanoes: there are many of them, and a good dozen of them are active. However, this does not frighten numerous tourists who want to explore medieval buildings, go windsurfing or diving, and enjoy beach holiday on the coast, almost everywhere covered with dark (volcanic) sand.

And here you can walk in the equatorial forests of tree ferns, palms and ficus trees, marveling at the richness of the Sumatran fauna. There are many endemic species here. For example, the Sumatran tiger and rhinoceros, as well as the rare woolly wing, Indian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and others. There are even 450 species of birds on the island!

5 Baffin Island

Listing the most large islands in the world, it is impossible to ignore Baffin Island, the island large area and very bizarre shapes, belonging to Canada.
Baffin Island is essentially an extension (geologically) of the Canadian Shield, so the mountains on the island should be considered part of the Andes. And there are a lot of mountains here, including quite high ones.

The island is not rich in population: the climate here is harsh, a significant part of the island is located beyond the Arctic Circle, and frosts are common even in summer.

For a long time it was believed that Baffin discovered the island. But recent archaeological excavations suggest that the island was known to the ancient Vikings and is mentioned in their sagas under the name Helluland.

The harsh climate does not allow much vegetation to develop; the flora here is poor. Animals include arctic foxes, polar bears, lemmings, reindeer, polar hares and, of course, walruses and seals. hits the island and big amount birds, including polar owls.

4 Madagascar

When talking about which island is the largest in the world, it is impossible to ignore Madagascar, located near Africa and only recently emerged from the protectorate of France. IN currently The independent republic of Madagascar is located on the island, the government of which is constantly changing as a result of various shocks and military coups.

However, the history of Madagascar is also full of such events. There were attempts to seize the island by force, and various tricks. For some time, Madagascar was even a base for pirates robbing the ships of merchants hurrying to India.

The climate in Madagascar is tropical and monsoonal, which allows many plants to flourish, including many endemics. And the most famous is the fire tree (Royal Delonix) - extraordinary beauty a ten-meter tree strewn with bright scarlet flowers.
Among the animals there are also many endemic ones, for example the fossa - something between a puma and a mongoose.

Madagascar is also home to such interesting animals as lemurs (there are more than fifty species of them here!), bristly hedgehogs, chameleons, civets, turtles, a huge number of insects, fish (for example, the famous moray eels), and birds. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to swim here: the coast is full of sharks.

3 Kalimantan

The island of Kalimantan, which occupies third place in the ranking, is often called Borneo - after the name of the state of Brunei, which was once large and powerful, but now occupies only a small part of the island. The rest is shared between Indonesia and Malaya - Kalimantan is the only island on Earth, which belongs to three states at once.

Over the centuries, various parts of the island passed under the rule of one state or another; in different places and different time The British, Holland, and even Japan were noted here. It was only in the period from the middle to the end of the last century that the modern political status of Kalimantan was established.

The equatorial climate and high humidity are favorable for a huge number of plants and animals, many of which are endemic and have not yet been properly studied. Orchids and carnivorous plants, king cobra and reticulated python, proboscis monkeys and giant flying foxes - you can’t list them all!

Huge hot island in Pacific Ocean divided between the states of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The climate is equatorial, there are quite high mountains (up to 4900 m), and an impenetrable strip of mango forests stretches along the coast (it can only be crossed by canoeing).

New Guinea is rich in flora and fauna: there are 11 thousand species of plants (various palm trees, bananas, melon trees, etc.) and more than one and a half thousand animals, including marsupial badgers and birds of paradise. On the island, scientists found a place they called the “Garden of Eden”: there are many unprecedented creatures that are not at all afraid of humans.

1 The largest island is Greenland

Which country owns the largest island in the world? Answer: Denmark. Greenland is its autonomy.

More than 80% of the island is covered by glaciers; From the west and east, outlet glaciers form (descending tongues into the sea), which give rise to icebergs. In the east of Greenland there is also the most high mountain Arctic - Gunbjorn. Its height is 3700 m.

The climate is not very harsh, but changeable: in winter the temperature can reach -11 degrees, in summer – about +20, but it is not uncommon for years when the thermometer never crosses zero during the entire summer!

Plants can be found in glacier-free areas. These are mainly meadows, crooked forests, and junipers. But polar animals, fish and insects are quite widely represented: walruses, whales, seals, polar bear, polar deer, seagull, shark and dozens of unique endemic beetles (700 species of insects in total).

Before talking about what is the largest island on Earth, you should understand what an island actually is. Some people, when they hear this word, draw images in their minds resort areas, for example, Crete, the Maldives, Sicily, for others, pictures from action-adventure films immediately pop up before their eyes.

Small and large islands of the world really hold many mysteries and secrets, and new ones are still being discovered Interesting Facts about these pieces of land surrounded on all sides by water.

The largest island on Earth. Name

In total, there are over 500 thousand islands on our planet. They all have different sizes: some are tiny and some are simply huge. Do you know what the largest island on Earth is? Many people mistakenly believe that this is Australia. It would seem that everything is correct - this piece of land has an area of 7,600 thousand square meters. km and is surrounded on all sides by water. But still, Australia is considered to be not an island itself. Then what is Greenland, three times smaller in size than Australia, but larger in area than most modern countries. Below we will tell you more about it.

Greenland is the largest island on Earth (+photo)

The area of this part of the land is 2130.8 thousand sq. km. The geographical miracle belongs to Denmark and could significantly increase the area of the said country, but this is hampered by terrain and climate: more than 80 percent of the earth's surface is covered by an ice sheet. And this is not surprising, because Greenland is located in close proximity to the North Pole, and is washed by the waters of the Arctic and partially Atlantic Oceans. All this makes Greenland one of the most unusual, vibrant, majestic and beautiful places on our planet. The landscapes of the island are so beautiful that only few people can live there, since even in summer the air warms up to a temperature just above zero degrees. What can we say about winter, when frosts down to -50 Celsius are considered normal!

Nevertheless, harsh weather conditions do not stop tourists, and many come to the island to see with their own eyes majestic ice, observe the unique animal world of the harsh, but so beautiful Greenland. It is recommended to visit her in summer time, when in addition to everything you can also admire the white nights.

This is what it is - the largest island in the world. But on our planet there are many other significant areas of land surrounded by water. They are also interesting, so we will continue to look at the largest islands on Earth.

New Guinea

This is the second largest island (786 thousand sq. km) in the world. Unlike Greenland, it is located entirely in the Pacific Ocean, in its western part. Accordingly, the climate here is completely different. Tropics, rich and varied nature, warm and gentle sea - this is what New Guinea has to offer travelers. Interestingly, this island ended up being divided by two countries, which doesn't happen often. One plot belongs Papua New Guinea, and the other - Indonesia.

Of course, each state would like to have the entire island at its disposal, but even half is not bad! Scientists consider New Guinea to be one of the last places on the planet that has not yet been fully explored. Not long ago, an area later called New Eden was discovered on the island, with dozens of unknown or thought to be extinct plants and animals. And, what is most surprising, the inhabitants of the “Garden of Eden” were not at all afraid of people.

Kalimantan

Of course, when describing the largest islands on Earth, one cannot ignore this part of the land. Kalimantan has an area of 743.33 thousand square kilometers and, like New Guinea, is distinguished by the richness of its nature and the beauty of its landscapes. The island belongs to three states at once: more than 70% of the territory is controlled by Indonesia, almost the rest is owned by Malaysia, and only a small area went to Brunei.

Since Kalimantan crosses the equator, the climate here is appropriate: hot and humid. Most of the area (over 80 percent) is occupied by tropical forests, where they live. Now they have become more civilized and are happy to show tourists their martial dances and also sell souvenirs.

Madagascar

After the release of the animated film of the same name, everyone probably learned about Madagascar. Since then this large island, having an area of 587.041 thousand sq. km, has become the dream of a large number of travelers. It is spread out in Indian Ocean, and its main attraction and wealth are its amazing inhabitants, most of which are endemic, that is, not found anywhere else. These include numerous lemurs, chameleons, giant fossas, geckos, bats, and turtles. Zoologists and botanists are simply overwhelmed with delight when they come here and discover more and more new species of fauna and flora. Well, for those who are not very interested in the flora and fauna, it will be more interesting to enjoy the magnificent beaches of Madagascar!

Baffin Island

The five largest islands by area are closed by this inhospitable and cold part of the land, which covers 507,451 thousand sq. km). The climate here is similar to Greenland, it is just as windy and frosty, but at the same time attractive and bewitching in its severity. In addition to the few inhabitants, there are also people living here, and at least no one forbids you to think so! Baffin Island is famous for its mountain features: one of the world's highest cliffs, Thor, and the Asgard mesa.

Sumatra

It just so happens that some of the largest islands on Earth, if not entirely, then at least partially belong to Indonesia. So Sumatra, with an area of 473 thousand sq. km, is controlled by this country. This island is divided into almost equal parts by the equator; accordingly, it is located in two hemispheres of our planet.

Sumatra is located in the western part of the Malay Archipelago and is part of the large Sunda Islands group. The coastline here is slightly indented, and there are coral reefs near the coast.

Great Britain

The area of this piece of land, surrounded by water, is 229.848 thousand sq. km. Like the other largest islands on Earth, Great Britain is very interesting to see. Scotland, England and Wales are located here. The coastline extends 966 kilometers from north to south, and the width of the island reaches 483 kilometers.

Honshu

This is the eighth largest island in the world (227.97 thousand sq. km) and the largest in the Japanese archipelago. It accounts for 60 percent of the area of all of Japan. The terrain here is mountainous, so there are many volcanoes. The permanent symbol of the Land of the Rising Sun is also located here - Mount Fuji.

The island of Greenland is the largest island on the planet. Greenland - " Green land“Why is this island called that? After all, almost the entire island is covered with a layer of ice, in some places it reaches one kilometer. A huge ice desert, at the edges of which, in the coastal areas of the island, there is lush green vegetation. That’s why it is called “Green Land” ".

Who owns the island of Greenland

Unlike Antarctica, whose land is neutral, Greenland is an autonomous region of Denmark. Until 1536 the island belonged to Norway. In 1979, the Danish parliament granted it wide autonomy. Today the island with its capital Nuuk is an autonomous region within Denmark. Not a bad addition to Denmark, autonomy the size of half of Europe.

The population of the island is 58 thousand people. Of which about 90% live in southwest coast. Here are the largest cities in Greenland: Nuuk - the capital, Qaqortoq, Sisimiut and Maniitsok. The city of Upernavik is the most northern city Greenland, the air temperature here in summer does not exceed 5 degrees.

The official languages of Greenland are Greenlandic and Danish. Greenlandic is a language belonging to the Eskimo-Aleut group of languages. Many people here also speak English.

The depths of the island of Greenland contain many minerals. These are oil, nickel, gold and so on, but the main mineral resource of the island is considered fresh water, which is stored in the ice of Greenland.

The nature of Greenland attracts the attention of thousands of tourists. This perfect place for lovers of active and extreme recreation. The harsh climate of the island requires physically prepared people; frostbites have no place here, because the temperature in the central and northeastern regions drops to 47 - 65 degrees below zero. The impressions after walking through the icy desert on dog sleds can be very vivid. They harness the huskies, of course.

Very popular place on the island it is considered Northern part, here you can see icebergs of various shapes and sizes.

The northern part is also famous for the fact that there is Greenland National Park, but it is very difficult to get here due to geographical location and because of the ban on staying here. The park is home to animals such as musk ox, polar wolves, and polar bears. Arctic plants are also very diverse. The special beauty of northern Greenland is northern lights. This is uniquely beautiful a natural phenomenon will bring a lot of positive impressions.

Greenlandic cuisine is very unique. For many Europeans it will even seem unsuitable. The traditional food of the Greenlanders is considered to be fresh meat of marine mammals, that is, not even cooked over a fire, in a stove or oven, but taken from a literally live whale, walrus or seal. If you suddenly decide to go to Greenland, then you need to stock up on products that are familiar to us.

Greenland is the largest island on Earth. This is amazing, and in its own way unique place requires special attention from connoisseurs of pristine nature.

If you have anything to add to what has been said, please leave your comments below.

Greenland Population: 58 thousand | Area: 2,130,800 km²

Greenland is the largest island on Earth. Its area is 2,130,800 km2. The island is washed by two oceans: the Arctic and the Atlantic. It is part of the autonomous unit of Denmark - Greenland. The largest settlement is called Nuuk, located in the western part of the island. The highest point in Greenland (Mount Gunbjorn) with an altitude of 3,383 thousand meters. Until 1921, Cape Morris-Jesup was considered the closest landmass to the North Pole.

Population: 7.5 million | Area: 786,000 km²

New Guinea is the 2nd largest island, with an area of 785,753 km2, located in the Pacific Ocean. New Guinea links Australia with Asia. In turn, the island is separated from Australia by the Torres Strait. New Guinea is divided almost equally between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The Indonesian part belongs to Asia. This island is the largest of all the islands divided between countries.

Population: 16 million | Area: 743,330 km²

The third largest island, Kalimantan (or Malay Borneo), has an area of 748,168 km2. This sea island divided between 3 states: Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. Kalimantan is located in South-East Asia in the center of the Malay Archipelago. Most of the island belongs to Indonesia and is divided into 4 provinces. The part that belongs to Malaysia, in turn, is divided into 2 states.

Madagascar Population: 20 million | Area: 587,041 km²

Next on the list of the largest islands in the world is Madagascar. This island has a tropical climate and is located close to the east of Africa. The Mozambique Channel flows between the mainland and the island. Its dimensions are approximately 1600 km in length and 600 km in width, with a total area of 587,713 km2. The island is occupied by the state of Madagascar, whose capital is Antananarivo. A local residents They call their corner of space the island of boars.

Population: 11 thousand | Area: 507,451 km²

We are transported to the Arctic Ocean and find the fifth largest island there, called Baffin Island. The island belongs to Canada and is the largest of the country's islands. The area of the island is 507,451 km2. Most of it remains uninhabited due to poor weather conditions. The island's population lives in the Canadian province of Nunavut with its capital Iqaluit. It is noteworthy that the island has many freshwater lakes, the two largest of which are Nettilling, with an area of 5,542 km2, of which only 5,050 km2 is occupied by water, and Amajuaq - 3,115 km2 with a water surface of 3,058 km2.

Population: 51 million | Area: 473,000 km²

The sixth largest island, Sumatra, is divided by the equator into almost equal parts, as it is located in both hemispheres of the Earth. The island is located in the west of the Malay Archipelago. Belongs to the group of large Sunda Islands, to which small islands are adjacent. Sumatra has an area of 443,066 km2 and belongs to Indonesia. Its coastline is slightly indented, and there are coral reefs near the coast.

o.Great Britain Population: 60 million | Area: 229,848 km²

The largest island British Isles- Great Britain. Its area is 229,848 km2. Wales, Scotland and England - Great Britain contains most of the entire United Kingdom. The area of the entire kingdom is 244,100 km2. Length coastline The islands from south to north are 966 km, and the width is 483 km. The highest point on the island is 1,344 meters.

Honshu Population: 103 million | Area: 227,962.59 km²

The largest island of the Japanese archipelago and the eighth largest in the world is the island of Honshu. Its area is 227,970 km2, which in turn is equal to 60% of the area of all of Japan. It is slightly smaller than the British Isles. Honshu has a mountainous terrain, and among the mountains there are many volcanoes. The mountains are responsible for the climatic difference in the southeast and northwest of the island. The largest mountain, which is the permanent symbol of Japan, is Fuji with a height of 3,776 meters.

Ellesmere is also an island in Canada, it is the third largest after Baffin Island and Victoria, and is also included in the list of the largest islands in the world and is located in tenth place. The island is located in the north, further than all the other islands of Canada, but still belongs to the province of Nunavut and is also part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. Island area - 196,236 km2, highest point- 2,616 m. The population of Ellesmere is extremely small, but traces of prehistoric animals have often been found there.

There are hundreds of thousands of islands on our planet. They arise in the middle of rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and are surrounded on all sides by water. They could easily be compared to the continents, but the main difference between the islands is their size. They are all much smaller than continents. Which island is the largest on Earth? Where is he located?

The largest islands on Earth

Some islands are very tiny. For example, Pontikonisi in Greece or Visovac in Croatia do not exceed 200 meters in length. Others stretch for hundreds of kilometers, containing numerous cities and towns.

Islands are found in any body of water. In rivers they most often arise from accumulations carried by currents. In the seas and oceans they are formed due to volcanoes or the activity of corals. Alternatively, they may be part of the continental crust that rises above the surface of the water.

The largest island on Earth, Greenland, is also of continental origin. It covers an area of 2.130 million kilometers and is home to 56 thousand people. From geological and geographical points point of view it refers to North America, but administratively belongs to Denmark.

Of the largest islands on the planet, Greenland is the furthest north. You can see the rest of the world record holders in the table:


New Guinea		Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
Kalimantan		Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia
Madagascar		Madagascar
Baffin Island
		Indonesia
Great Britain		Great Britain

"Green Country"

In Greenlandic, the name of the largest island on Earth is “Kalaalit Nunaat”, or “land of people”. But another name has taken root in the world - Greenland, or “green country”, which was given to it by Eirik the Red. Why the navigator called the island covered with ice green, no one knows for sure. However, there are several versions on this matter.

Eirik the Red is considered the discoverer of the largest island on Earth. He went there in 980, after being expelled from Norway and Iceland for committing several murders. He landed on the southwestern coast of the island, which in summer is covered with flowering vegetation. Seeing a lot of greenery on the seemingly icy land, the navigator came up with the appropriate name.

According to another version, Eirik liked the island so much that, upon returning from exile, he began inviting Icelanders there. To be more convincing, he gave it the name Greenland. One way or another, volunteers were found to develop the island. Under the leadership of Eirik the Red, they founded the first European settlement near modern Kassiarsuk.

Greenland

The largest island on Earth is only three times smaller in area than Australia and almost 50 times larger than Denmark. It is located between Iceland and Canada, washed by the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Most of Greenland is located beyond the Arctic Circle - a zone of permafrost and permanent snow. Only 137 days a year the usual change of day and night occurs here; the rest of the time you can observe the polar night or polar day.

It should have been called “ice land”, because 84% of the territory here is covered with ice. The non-melting cover reaches several kilometers in thickness. If it melted, the level of the World Ocean would rise by 6-7 meters. Largest glacier- Jakobshavn. At 7 kilometers per year, it is the fastest moving in the world.

Despite the abundance of ice, Greenland is not devoid of life. The island is home to many butterflies, spiders, beetles, partridges, gulls and eiders, deer, musk oxen, lemmings, polar wolves and polar bears. The surrounding waters are home to fish, shrimp, whales, seals and walruses.

Climate

The lands of the largest island in the world are covered with vegetation only near the coast. It is very poor and is represented by dwarf trees, mosses, lichens, heather and tundra grasses. This is not surprising, because Greenland has arctic and subarctic climate types. For the most part it is harsh, continental; near the coast it is softer, maritime.

On the coasts the weather is very unstable, snowstorms often form, winds blow, and precipitation occurs. The most favorable conditions are in the southwest of the island. There, average temperatures range from -7 °C in January to +10 °C in July, and fog often occurs in summer. It is coldest on the eastern and northern coasts, where the temperature drops to -35 °C.

Population

Greenland is one of the few countries in the world where the majority of the population is indigenous. About 90% of the population is Eskimo (Inuit), and only 10% is Danish and other Europeans.

The ancestors of modern Greenlandic Eskimos arrived on the island around the 13th century. Before that, it was inhabited by peoples close to the Aleuts and Chukchi, as well as the Vikings. But for some reason they all disappeared. Perhaps due to the inability to adapt to a sharply deteriorating climate (it is assumed that in the early Middle Ages it was much warmer).

Greenlandic culture is a mixture of Inuit traditions and European ones. Eskimos still believe in spirits and build houses from ice blocks and needles. Folk clothing is now considered festive. Seal skin capes have long replaced sports jackets, but many people wear national shoes.

Europeans brought writing with them, teaching the local Inuit. They built cities on the island and brought with them medicine, education and Christianity. With their arrival, some traditional Eskimo occupations disappeared, but fishing and musk ox breeding remained. Many Inuit work in industry, transportation, and services.

Life in Greenland

The country covers not only the territory of the largest island on Earth, but also the adjacent islands: Ymer, Holm, Kun, Claverin, Eggers and others. It received autonomy within Denmark back in 1979. After a referendum in 2009, it received even more rights and opportunities for self-government. Official language is Greenlandic, but all citizens must also learn Danish. The currency used here is the Danish krone.

Actually big island There is no land railway tracks, there are no roads between cities. You can get from one point to another by airliner or ship. There are other options, such as snowmobiles or dog sleds.

All settlements on the island are located on the southern and west coasts, on a narrow strip between eternal ice and the ocean. The largest of these is the capital Nuuk, which has a population of 16,500.

Greenland is considered the most sparsely populated country. But this does not prevent her from being one of the world leaders in suicide. Approximately every fourth resident of the country attempts to commit suicide.

Attractions

Endless ice of bizarre shapes, winding fjords and drifting icebergs. If this is not enough, don’t worry, Greenland still has something to boast about. On the largest island on Earth is the largest national park in the world. Its area is 970,000 km2.

Tourists are offered to explore the local fjords and see how icebergs are “born” at passenger ships, and there are always kayaks for extreme sports enthusiasts. All year round Greenland offers skiing and snowboarding, sledding and ice climbing. You can see the northern lights on the island. Best time for this purpose it occurs in December and January, when the polar night falls on Greenland.

After enjoying all the natural beauties of the island, you should head to the city of Nuuk. In the capital you can see typical Greenlandic architecture, visit museums, and most importantly, meet Santa Claus himself. Here, on the shores of the cold Baffin Sea, is his home.