Greenland and Australia are both land masses that are completely surrounded by water. Yet Greenland is considered to be an island, while Australia is a continent. There are several reasons for this.
To begin with, Australia is much larger than Greenland. It is three times bigger, and much too large to be considered to be an island. In terms of population too, Australia is much more thickly populated than Greenland, which has a mere fifty seven thousand inhabitants.
Australia has highly distinct plants and animals like kangaroos, wombats, and Tasmanian devils that are not seen anywhere else in the world, while Greenland’s are largely shared with those of northern North America.
Australia has unique, ancient cultures. Greenland’s Arctic cultures, while unique, are part of larger North American Arctic culture. Australia is also separated geologically from all other continents, and rests on its own tectonic plate, while Greenland is geologically part of North America. So, to sum it up, Greenland is the world’s biggest island, and Australia is the smallest continent!
