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Greenland Ice Sheet
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & Videos
Map showing the extent of the Laurentide, Cordilleran, and Greenland ice sheets during the Wisconsin glaciation, roughly 100,000 to 11,000 years ago. The Laurentide Ice Sheet covers most of present-day Canada and parts of the northern United States in light blue, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet covers the Pacific Northwest in teal, and the Greenland Ice Sheet is marked in purple. Modern international and state or provincial boundaries are outlined for reference.
Sepia-toned map of Greenland, with the label Greenland highlighted in blue.
Two maps displaying the locations of Earth's known subglacial lakes as of 2023, with Antarctica on the left and Greenland on the right. Orange triangles indicate draining (active) subglacial lakes, while purple circles show non-draining (stable) lakes. Antarctica has a high concentration of both types, especially in East Antarctica, while Greenland and Iceland show mostly stable lakes with a few active ones. Major surrounding geographic features and seas are labeled for context. Polar projection map depicting the five major ice caps during the Ice Age: Cordilleran, Keewatin, Labrador, Greenland, and European. Each ice cap is labeled and shown with arrows radiating outward, indicating the direction of ice movement from these central regions across North America, Greenland, and Europe. The North Pole is marked at the center of the map.

Greenland Ice Sheet: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Sanat Pai Raikar
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: PNAS - Direct measurements of meltwater runoff on the Greenland ice sheet surface (PDF). Jan 13, 2026
Changed the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet to roughly 656,000 square miles (about 1,700,000 square km). Oct 10, 2025
Media added. Mar 17, 2025
Cross-references added. Oct 24, 2023
Map added. May 02, 2023
Corrected display issue. Aug 09, 2022
Article thoroughly revised. Aug 04, 2022
Add new Web site: LiveScience - Greenland: Earth's Biggest Island. Apr 16, 2018
Add new Web site: PNAS - Direct measurements of meltwater runoff on the Greenland ice sheet surface (PDF). Apr 15, 2018
Add new Web site: LiveScience - Greenland: Earth's Biggest Island. Apr 15, 2018
Add new Web site: National Snow and Ice Data Center - Quick Facts on Ice Sheets. Apr 15, 2018
Article added to new online database. May 27, 1999
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