What country lies closest to Greenland?

Greenland, the world's largest island, is geographically part of North America, and its closest neighbor is Canada. These two vast Arctic territories are separated by a relatively narrow body of water known as the Nares Strait. At its narrowest point, between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, the distance is only about 26 kilometers, or 16 miles. This close proximity has long been significant for indigenous Inuit communities, who historically traversed these waters.

The Nares Strait is a crucial waterway that connects the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean to Baffin Bay in the Atlantic. It is a dynamic channel, often filled with ice, but navigable for specialized vessels. This geographical closeness also led to a unique, decades-long dispute over a small, uninhabited landmass called Hans Island, situated in the middle of the Kennedy Channel within the Nares Strait. Both Canada and Denmark, which oversees Greenland's foreign affairs, claimed sovereignty over the island.

This friendly rivalry, often dubbed the "Whisky War," involved officials from both nations periodically visiting the island to plant their respective flags and leave bottles of their country's spirits. The dispute was finally resolved peacefully in 2022, with Canada and Denmark agreeing to divide Hans Island roughly in half, thereby creating a shared land border between the two countries. This resolution highlights the close ties and cooperative spirit that exist between these Arctic neighbors, despite the vast, icy landscapes that define their shared frontier.