From Introduction:

If we take a look at Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland the periphery position of these islands stands out, at least from a Scandinavian and even more so from a European point of view. Their belonging to Scandinavia isn’t explained that easy. The descripted area includes the three countries Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. In contrast to the rest of Scandinavia there are a few specifics. The geographical dimension of the area is huge; it includes a big part of the northern globe. In contrast the population number is relatively low. It is under half a million inhabitants. Politically the countries belong to Europe. Geologically and geographically they are parts of two continents. The Faroe Islands and Iceland belong to the European continent, while Greenland is a part of North America. All three countries are islands or archipelagos. These areas are described together as “Vestnorden”. The biggest part of “Vestnorden” is covered by the sea, the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The sea is the most important natural phenomenon of the whole region. At first view the sea separates: on the one hand the islands among themselves, and on the other hand in reference to Scandinavia and Europe. But over the centuries it also became the most important connection between the islands and Scandinavia. Because of the abundance of fish, the sea was a fundamental resource of the North Atlantic islands. Living at the coast influenced the culture of the west northern countries. Climatically Iceland and the Faroe Islands are part of the subarctic zone. The biggest part of Greenland belongs to the arctic zone. Out of 2.2 million square kilometres of the area of Greenland 1.8 million square kilometres are covered by inland ice. Only a small part of the coast is inhabitable.