why is iceland called iceland,and greenland ,greenland?

Answer 1

greenland, not very long ago, had lush forests along the coast and for some distance inland. Iceland is just a cold rock in the middle of the ocean...when the volcanoes aren;t acting up... no trees are native to iceland.

Answer 2

Vikings, who had come from Norway, were great sailors and explorers. They traveled the North Atlantic, discovering several islands in the area, and it has been suspected that they were to-the-point in naming their settlements. Thus, Iceland, farther north than Norway, probably had more ice and even icebergs; hence the name Iceland. Eric the Red and his son, Leif Ericson (get it? Eric's son?) then sailed northwest. Where they landed, however, was the southern part of a really big island, where there were more trees than the settlement in Iceland. The two islands are in the same latitude, so climate was quite similar, but it was probably late spring or early summer when the explorers landed on the island with trees (and they needed wood back in Iceland)...probably pine trees since conifers thrive in that biome. So, the description of the new land was green land, therefore the name: Greenland. Several years later, Leif Ericson set sail from Greenland, heading south, landing in what is now part of Canada. Artifacts and remnants of a settlement have documented the Viking settlement. Legend has it that Leif Ericson described the new place as "new found land"... today known as Newfoundland. These are all conjectures by a variety of sources, but make for a good story that seems to make sense in the naming of these islands.

Answer 3

When the Norsemen discovered Iceland, they found it beautiful and established a settlement there. But to discourage others from coming and possibly attempting to conquer them they named it Iceland so others would think it worthless to stop there. On the other hand they found nothing of value in Greenland and thus named it such to encourage others to travel the dangerous north Atlantic waters to Greenland. It was a very basic form of psychological warfare. They used a mind trick as a sort of defensive fortification. It is the same reason as Newfoundland is called what it is. It was a New Found Land.

Answer 4

It was all a big trick. The vikings wanted people to go to the place that sounded the best (greenland) Making people believe the greenland was actually nice instead of very icey. On the other hand iceland is very nice and not icey at all

Answer 5

Iceland, in the north "is" - in the capitol, Reykjavik, temperatures rarely get or stay below 32 degrees f. This is because of the Golf Stream - this also allows for palm trees in the South of Ireland. Greenland once was - at least in the South, and still is. Remember the Vikings? Does anybody hear Global Warming!!?

Answer 6

Iceland actually has a lot of ice, despite all the volcanic action on that island. However, when Greenland was discovered that part of the world was a bit warmer than today, and it really was an agricultural delight. That is why the Vikings like it.

Answer 7

they wanted to confuse people by telling them that Iceland is really cold and that Greenland is very green when in fact it is the other way around. Iceland is the green one while Greenland is the icy one

Answer 8

Leif Erickson spread the rumor that Greenland was lush and green and that Iceland was just that, to keep the vikings from wanting Iceland, which was in fact lush and green. Confused? Worked on the Vikings too...

Answer 9

The names were used to keep unwanted settlers from settling onto the island (Iceland) that the vikings had already settled. Iceland to give the impression that the land was inhospitable and covered in ice, and green land to give the impression that the land was lush and covered with vegetation. The names were not official, but rather loosely descriptive terms back during the era.

Answer 10

It was a trick. Iceland is lush and green. Greenland is mostly ice. The inhabitants wanted to keep people - particularly the conquering Vikings - away.