Why is Greenland called green when it is covered in ice?

Question

Why is Greenland called green when it is covered in ice?

Answer 1

It apparently goes back to a norse legend. Some man called Eric the red (Eir kur Raui) was exiled from iceland and along with his family and slaves set off to find land which was meant to be to the northwest of iceland. He settled there and called it 'greenland' to entice people to move there. It is possible that some very southern areas of Greenland did have green areas in medieval times as there was a period when it was much warmer than today (evan with global warming).

Answer 2

Iceland is not covered in green. Iceland is mostly rock.

As for Greenland, during the Medieval Warm Period (between 850 and 1300 AD) the Vikings discovered this particular part of the world and named it Greenland, not because they had an ironic sense of humor, but because it was green. The earth was much warmer back then and Greenland was a verdant paradise. Then things cooled off, the Viking colonies died out, and it became largely an ice-covered wasteland.

Its either that, or the guy who found it called it that so everyone would go to Greenland instead of Iceland, which he kept for himself (and the name made people think it was cold and full of ice, while actually it was the opposite.)

Answer 3

It is the name of the person hu found it. Mr. Greenland Washington.

Answer 4

It was once administered by Denmark and a long time ago they called it Greenland to encourage people from Denmark to move there to live.  This is the true story.

Answer 5

The name Greenland comes from Scandinavian settlers. In the Icelandic sagas, it is said that Norwegian-born Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for murder. He, along with his extended family and thralls, set out in ships to find the land that was rumoured to be to the northwest. After settling there, he named the land Grænland ("Greenland"). Greenland was also called Gruntland ("Ground-land") and Engronelant (or Engroneland) on early maps. Whether green is an erroneous transcription of grunt ("ground"), which refers to shallow bays, or vice versa, is not known. It should also be noted, however, that the southern portion of Greenland (not covered by glacier) is indeed very green in the summer and was likely to have been even greener in Erik's time because of the Medieval Warm Period.

Answer 6

One possible explanation is a bit of dodgy advertizing.  Back in the days of yore, when Vikings weren't called Vikings by anybody at all (that name came into use during the nineteenth century), an Icelandic based explorer came across a large landmass with farmland available.  (The main occupation of Vikings was farming rather than plundering.)  Anyway, the climate happened to be more mild at the time, and farming was possible in parts of Greenland.

He got into some kind of argument in Iceland and needed to leave town after burying the hatchet...  in a couple of heads.  However, he was an influential chap and was looked up to as a leader by some.  He encouraged them to emigrate to pastures pleasant and new; to Greenland.  History knows this geezer as Eric the Red.  Settlement of Greenland lasted from around 800 for four centuries.  Then the weather changed for the worse.