Greenland is considered the world’s largest island. Students often ask if Australia isn’t the largest island, but because Australia is a continent, that honor goes to Greenland. Greenland is unique in many other ways as well. Over two-thirds of the island is permanently covered in ice. Most of the country has an arctic climate, and in the warmest part of summer, the average temperature there is only 50°F. In the southernmost parts of the country, the temperatures are warmer and can reach 68°F or above in July and August.
Needless to say, most of the 57,000 people in Greenland live in the warmer south. Much of the population is descended from the Inuit tribes who first migrated to the island from Canada. The second wave of people were Vikings who arrived in the 10th century, but they mysteriously disappeared circa 1500AD. Over the next two centuries, Danish colonizers settled on the island, led there primarily because of the whaling industry. Due to the Danish settlement of the island, Greenland has traditionally been linked to that nation. Officially, Greenland is an overseas division of Denmark. Over the last year, however, Greenland has chosen to increasingly limit the involvement of Denmark in its internal affairs. Starting in June 2009, Greenland now has complete control over domestic policy. Denmark remains involved in foreign affairs, security, and certain aspects of financial policy.
Also in 2009, the islanders voted to make Greenlandic the only official language of the country. Danish and English are also spoken, but Greenlandic is the most widely used. Greenlandic is a unique language, closely related to the Inuit languages of northern Canada. It is a “polysynthetic language.” This means that multiple affixes (suffixes and prefixes) can be attached to each root word. Words in Greenlandic can be extremely long and often translate to entire sentences in other languages.
There will be a quiz over Greenland next Wednesday. Enjoy the long weekend this weekend!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Counting Counties
As we study the United States of America, we are looking at each of the fifty states. But did you know that the USA is divided into more than just states? Each state is split into a certain number of counties. A county is a division of local government within a state. The powers of a county government, as well as the way it interacts with city governments, varies from state to state. In fact each state has a slightly different approach to its counties.
Louisiana and Alaska are especially unique. In fact, neither of these states even uses the word “county.” Louisiana is divided into parishes rather than counties, though the parishes are equivalent to a county. The term “parish” is leftover from Louisiana’s colonization by the heavily Catholic countries of Spain and France. Alaska, because of its sparse population, is divided into boroughs. The more heavily populated areas of Alaska are divided into sixteen boroughs. The rest of the state is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.
The number of counties in each state differs. Texas has the most, with a total of 254; while Delaware, with only three, has the fewest counties. The size of a county greatly depends on the state. For instance, Georgia’s 159 counties are all very small, because originally they were planned so that a farmer could easily reach the county seat (government headquarters) on horseback. While other states, like Arizona with only fifteen, have large counties.
The population of a county also varies quite widely. For instance, Loving County in Texas has only sixty-seven residents. But Los Angeles County in California contains over ten million people. Our county has nearly four million residents.
This week’s assignment: There will be no quiz over this blog entry, because we have a test on Friday. Your extra credit question on the test is: Where did the title of this blog come from? Find out before Friday and earn bonus points on your first exam of the school year.
Louisiana and Alaska are especially unique. In fact, neither of these states even uses the word “county.” Louisiana is divided into parishes rather than counties, though the parishes are equivalent to a county. The term “parish” is leftover from Louisiana’s colonization by the heavily Catholic countries of Spain and France. Alaska, because of its sparse population, is divided into boroughs. The more heavily populated areas of Alaska are divided into sixteen boroughs. The rest of the state is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.
The number of counties in each state differs. Texas has the most, with a total of 254; while Delaware, with only three, has the fewest counties. The size of a county greatly depends on the state. For instance, Georgia’s 159 counties are all very small, because originally they were planned so that a farmer could easily reach the county seat (government headquarters) on horseback. While other states, like Arizona with only fifteen, have large counties.
The population of a county also varies quite widely. For instance, Loving County in Texas has only sixty-seven residents. But Los Angeles County in California contains over ten million people. Our county has nearly four million residents.
This week’s assignment: There will be no quiz over this blog entry, because we have a test on Friday. Your extra credit question on the test is: Where did the title of this blog come from? Find out before Friday and earn bonus points on your first exam of the school year.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Welcome to World Geography Class!
This is a test week for the brand new JMPS geography blog. As explained in class, you are responsible to check this site once a week. There will either be a short entry for you to read, an assignment for you to complete, or a link for you to follow. On Friday you will either have a quiz related to the week's post or the assignment found here will be due. This week your assignment is simply to post a comment, showing me that you were able to successfully access the blog. You have until class on Friday.
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