The white desert

The Inuit live in wooden cabins like this one in Sermiligaaq

Greenland seems a rather odd name for a glacier-covered island lying mostly within the Arctic Circle. But being a little free and easy with the truth allowed Erik the Red to persuade fellow Icelanders to settle here in the 10th century (so legend has it). In his defence the island was much warmer than it is today and there are accounts of lush green meadows and fjords positively fizzing with fish. Having established their colonies here, the gutsy Icelanders thrived in Greenland for the next three centuries, but in the middle of the 14th century the climate began to change leading to an era known as the Little Ice Age. The settlers were farmers, so the arrival of this inclement weather hit their crops and livestock hard. As a consequence they turned to the sea