Does anyone know why Greenland is not a continent?

Question

Does anyone know why Greenland is not a continent?

Answer 1

Because it does not have its own tectonic plate

Answer 2

Greenland is considered too small to be a continent, and it is close to North America and part of the North American continental shelf. The next largest landmass is Australia, which is over three times larger than greenland, and big enough to be considered a continent in its own right, although the distinction between continent and island is arbitrary and many people consider Australia as both an island and a continent. The single Africa-Eurasia landmass is divided into three continents, and the landmass of the Americas is divided into two continents.

Answer 3

its an island?

Answer 4

too small.  the basic Mercator map projections you see make it very large and Australia small  but that is just map distortion, in actuality Australia is much larger.

Answer 5

what? it's an island...there's lots of islands that arent continents...

Answer 6

Geographically, Greenland is part of the North American continent, geopolitically, the country is part of Europe, and nationally Greenland is part of Denmark.

Answer 7

Greenland is an island belonging to the country of Denmark. It is probably way to small to be a continent !!!

Answer 8

I think its because its too small and its technically a province of Denmark

Answer 9

It is too small to be regarded as a continent, but is an island. On maps using the Mercator projection, it appears to be larger than it really is. A map using other projections or a globe show its true size more accurately. Not only that, it is not a landmass unto itself. North America, like all other continents, has had its margines flooded. Greenland is part of North America, but the sea level is too high to show it.

A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with between five and seven regions commonly regarded as continents. The seven traditional continents are (from largest in size to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Answer 10

Probably for the same reason that Madagascar is not a continent.