It is 2,670 km from the farthest point north, Cape Marris Jeppup (only 740 km from the North Pole) to the southern most tip, Cape Farewell, which lies at the same latitude as Oslo.

The inland ice-cap covers an area of 1.8 million square kilometres and represents 10% of the world's total fresh water. At its centre the ice-cap is 8 km thick. Greenland's ice-free regions cover an area of 341,700 sq. km.