Northeast Greenland National Park is the largest national park in the world. It is the only national park in Greenland and, with its 972,000 km², occupies almost 45% of the island’s area. The national park was established on May 22, 1974 and in 1988 expanded by 272,000 km² in the north to its present size. It covers the entire northeastern coastline of Greenland and large inner parts of the island. In January 1977 it was declared an international biosphere reserve. To visit the national park, a permit with an SAR mountain insurance and appropriate expedition equipment is required.
Fauna
Between 5000 and 15,000 musk oxen live in the area of the national park, about 40% of the worldwide population. In addition, numerous polar bears and walruses can be found in the coastal areas. Other land mammals are arctic wolf, arctic fox, ermine, lemmings and arctic hare. Reindeer have disappeared since 1900. Wolves, which were originally found in the entire coastal area of the national park, were exterminated by Danish and Norwegian hunters in the 1920s and 1930s, mainly with the help of poison bait. From 1939 they were no longer observed in East Greenland south of the 80th parallel. Since 1979, however, individual animals have again immigrated from North Greenland. The size of the population was estimated at around 23 animals in 2011.
Marine mammals include the ringed seal, bearded seal, harp seal, collapsible cap, narwhal, and beluga. The most common birds are common loons, barnacles, short-billed goose, eider, king eider, gyrfalcon, snowy owl, sanderling, ptarmigan and common raven.
Geography
The inner part of the national park consists of the inland ice sheet with mountains. The coastal region of the Greenland Sea consists of tundra and thus offers the barren habitat for the fauna.
On the inland ice sheet, the national park, which does not belong to any municipality, is delimited to the west by the longitude 44 ° west of the Avannaata Kommunia. North of the 80 ° north latitude to the coast at Petermann Fjord on the Nares Strait, the park’s border runs in a north-westerly direction. In the south of the interior of the country, the park is delimited by the latitude 71 ° north from the Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq, district Ittoqqortoormiit. Near the coast, this border bends to the northeast and ultimately runs north of the Jamesonland peninsula.