Greenland: Geology from South to North

The southern tip of Greenland, Kap Farvel, is at the latitude of the Shetland Islands. It stretches north for 1650 miles, to Kap Morris Jesup, at 83º40’ North, only 438 miles from the Pole and the most northerly point of land. It has nine times the land area of the UK and less than one-thousandth of it population. The history and lifestyle of its people and its wildlife will be described.

The talk will take you to a few of the geological high-spots of this mighty land. Starting with spectacular rapakivi granite towers near Kap Farvel, it will include the Gardar alkaline province, which includes some of the most extreme igneous rocks known, the Isua Supracrustal Belt, the oldest largely unchanged volcanic and sedimentary rocks on Earth, the awesome East Greenland basalt province, and the first exploration and mapping of the rocks of Peary Land in the extreme North.