The population is around 56,000, mostly strung along the western and southern coasts. Nuuk, the capital, holds roughly 20,000 of them and is somehow the world’s northernmost capital city. Sisimiut is next at around 5,500. You get about 10°C in Nuuk in summer. Go inland and that starts to sound warm.

No roads connect most towns. Total paved road: about 150 km, linking one pair of settlements. Boats in summer, small planes otherwise. About 88% of the population is Inuit. Greenland has handled its own domestic affairs as an autonomous territory within Denmark since 2009. The northeastern section is entirely national park, 972,000 km² of it, bigger than Egypt, no permanent residents.

Until recently, the geology was mostly of interest to geologists. Then 2019 happened.

Reading the Rocks

This map covers the whole island and charts mineral deposits against the underlying geology. Basement rocks in the south formed roughly 3.8 billion years ago, before any complex life had appeared on Earth. Younger Proterozoic belts built up around that core over hundreds of millions of years after that. When the North Atlantic started opening around 60 million years ago, the western coast got a wave of magmatic activity that produced the Gardar alkaline province in the south. Alkaline igneous systems have unusual chemistry, and that chemistry generated mineral concentrations you simply don’t find in ordinary rock. On the map, look at the southern tip. The deposit symbols are so densely packed that labels start overlapping.

GEUS published a survey in 2023 putting 25 of the EU’s 34 critical raw materials inside Greenland’s borders. Most attention lands on two deposits near Narsaq, a small town in the south. Kvanefjeld has a verified resource of 1.01 billion tonnes carrying roughly 11 million metric tons of rare earth oxides. It should be one of the most significant mining operations on the planet. Uranium is the issue. The ore runs 250 to 350 ppm, and in 2021 Greenland’s parliament banned uranium mining. Kvanefjeld has been stuck ever since. Everyone references it. Nobody mines it. Nearby Tanbreez is actually moving. It has an exploitation license and is targeting production around 2028. Its 28.2-million-tonne resource contains over 27% heavy rare earth elements. The global average is about 5 to 10%. Those are what go into EV motors and wind turbines.

Citronen Fjord near the northern tip holds 85 million tonnes of zinc-lead ore, one of the largest undeveloped zinc deposits on the planet, which is a lot less useful when ships can only reach it in summer. The Amitsoq graphite deposit in the south got a 30-year exploitation license in December 2025. It hadn’t been worked since 1922. Projected output around 80,000 tonnes of concentrate a year.

What Trump Wants

The politics entered in 2019, when Trump floated buying Greenland. Denmark said the idea was absurd. Greenland said the same. Then Trump won in 2024 and the idea came back. This time it had tariff threats against Denmark attached. Waltz, his national security adviser, spelled out the logic as minerals, Arctic access, and national security. Greenland and Denmark said no. By January 2026 at Davos, Trump had shifted to a “framework of a future deal” with NATO’s Rutte. No details have been shared.

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Today, these types of fossil fuels continued to play a dominant role in the world’s energy systems, accounting for around 84 percent of the global energy supply. The United States is the most significant overall producer, producing just under 20 percent of all world’s fossil fuels, followed by Russia and Iran.

Below are the interactive maps created by 911metallurgist that show fossil fuel production by country.

The U.S. is the biggest oil producer, producing 18 percent of the world‘s oil, followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia. Venezuela has the most oil reserves in the world but currently only sits as its 12th biggest producer.

The United States is also the largest natural gas producer, producing nearly 20 percent of all-natural gas. Russia is also a gas powerhouse, with a 17.3 percent share.

China produces a mountainous 45 percent of the world’s coal.

Fossil fuel consumption has grown dramatically over the past half-century, about eight-fold since 1950 and practically doubling since 1980.

Today across the world, the largest consumers use over ten times more fossil energy than some of the smallest consumers.

Top 20 countries by fossil fuel consumption per capita in 2021

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Nowadays, gold reserves are a valuable tool for governments, which buy large amounts of gold to neutralize rising inflation. Also, the value of imports and exports from a country is highly related to the nation’s currency. If imports surpass exports, the currency’s value falls, and vice versa. This signifies that a country that exports gold and has a surplus of gold reserves can often see a boost in the strength of its currency.

The World Gold Council assesses that all the gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, totaled about 200 thousand metric tons in 2020. Still, other independent estimations differ by as much as 20 percent. The total value of all gold ever excavated, which is accounted for, would surpass $7.5 trillion at that valuation.

The map below shows the top 10 countries with the largest stockpiles of gold.

Top 10 countries with the Largest Gold Reserves

1. United States – 8,133 tonnes – $373,430,444,426
2. Germany – 3,369 tonnes – $154,711,817,616
3. Italy – 2,451 tonnes – $112,568,606,829
4. France – 2,436 tonnes – $111,843,187,142
5. Russia – 2,168 tonnes – $99,552,373,843
6. China – 1,885 tonnes – $86,568,279,703
7. Switzerland – 1,040 tonnes – $47,749,143,936
8. Japan – 765 tonnes – $38,852,246,882
9. India – 609 tonnes – $34,611,350,266
10. Netherlands – 613 tonnes – $28,121,491,020

The U.S. remains the largest holder of gold, holding more than 8 thousand tonnes of it in its stores, which is worth more than $373 billion. This was more than twice the gold reserves of Germany and more than three times the gold reserves of France and Italy. China was rated 6th for the amount of gold it has on reserve, but more gold is mined in China than in any other nation. While the share of gold reserves comprised 79% of the American central bank holdings in 2020, in China, this figure amounted to only 3.5%.

On the map below, the American gold reserves are compared to the gold reserves of other countries.

On the other hand, Australia is home to the largest gold mine reserves and the 2nd-largest producer of gold after China. Starting in the beginning 2000s, the Bank of Canada sold its gold reserves. Canada is nowadays the only G7 nation without any official gold holdings. While gold no longer acts as an object of exchange and as a confirmation value, for many countries, gold remains an investment asset for governments and could protect against inflation or recession.

The post The Countries With The Largest Gold Reserves Mapped appeared first on Vivid Maps.

The average annual water bill for households using 60,000 gallons of water a year is $329.06. Privately controlled water systems charge customers an average of $500.96, a 59% increase over the average bill for publicly run water systems, $315.56.

The post Your Water is Owned by Who? appeared first on Vivid Maps.

The European natural gas network consists of a vast network of pipelines that connect gas-producing countries, gas-consuming countries, and major storage facilities. These pipelines allow for the transportation of natural gas over long distances.

The network links various natural gas suppliers, including Russia, Norway, Algeria, and other countries, with consumers across Europe. Major consumers include industrial sectors, power generation plants, residential heating, and commercial establishments.

The map below created by the team entsog.eu shows the European natural gas network.

Major Pipelines

The major pipelines in Europe are:

• Nord Stream: A set of pipelines that transport natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
• Yamal-Europe Pipeline: Connects Russia’s Yamal Peninsula to Western Europe.
• Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline: Brings natural gas from Algeria to Italy via Tunisia.
• TAP Pipeline: Trans-Adriatic Pipeline delivers gas from Azerbaijan to Italy through Greece and Albania.
• BBL Pipeline: Connects the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
• Gazprom Pipelines: Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, operates several pipelines connecting Russia to Europe, including the Brotherhood Pipeline, the Blue Stream Pipeline, and the Tristram Pipeline.

Other Key Elements of the European Natural Gas Network

Storage facilities also play a crucial role in maintaining gas supply during high-demand periods or disruptions. These storage sites store natural gas that can be withdrawn when needed, ensuring energy security.

Moreover, various natural gas trading hubs exist across Europe, where gas can be bought and sold. These hubs play a role in determining gas prices and facilitate market integration.

To learn more, read:

• The Bridge: Natural Gas in a Redivided Europe
• Natural Gas: Fuel for the 21st Century

The post Map of the European Natural Gas Network appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Reddit user: vonsenke

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This Royal Society map explores two emerging classes of ocean based resources, metals from the deep ocean floor, and the application of the genetic materials and chemicals produced by marine life.

An ever increasing world population is driving the need for metals for use in electronics and low carbon technologies and novel drugs, not least antibiotics, to treat disease. This map aims to visualize where both resources can be found globally and how they interact.

Source: Royal Society

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The most popular artist in each U.S. state

Source: digitalmusicnews.com

Related post:
– Best selling music artists in each U.S. state

The post What’s the Most Popular Music Genre In the United States appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Related posts:
– 6 maps that show the anatomy of America’s infrastructure
– Distance from crude oil pipelines by Zip Code

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