Queen Maud Land

Queen Maud Land (Norwegian: Dronning Maud Land ) is a part of the continent Antarctica. It is claimed since January 14, 1939 by Norway, which is not recognized internationally. The area has a size of about 2.7 million km ², which is more than seven times the area of ​​Germany ( 357,026 km ²). It was named after Queen Maud ( 1869-1938 ).

History

The known as Crown Prince Olav Coast and Princess Ragnhild Coast coastal strip were discovered 1929/30, by the Norwegian flight pioneers Hjalmar Riiser -Larsen and Finn Lützow -Holm.

Paving the way for the stress of the region by Norway paved the Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate Lars Christensen by funding nine expeditions (1927-1937) in the region. The main objective was to explore new whaling grounds, after the British government raised royalties for whaling on the coasts of the British Antarctic Territory.

1939 sent the German Empire, the German Antarctic expedition with the German expedition ship Swabia. The aim of the expedition was to secure off the coast of the expedition area, the whaling rights. As part of the scientific part of the expedition were first photographed the ice-free mountains in the hinterland of the coast of entrained Dornier airplanes in January 1939. The turned down and flown over the region between 10 ° W and 15 ° E was baptized by the expedition leaders " New Swabia " and claimed by the German Reich, which is but internationally as well as the claim of the Norwegians not recognized as Queen Maud Land.

The first scientific expedition into the interior of Queen Maud Land was the Norwegian - British - Swedish Antarctic expedition from 1949 until 1952.

Geography

From the coast or the ice shelf glaciers gradually increase to over 1000 m. This is followed by the region of the towering out of the ice nunataks and mountain ranges with altitudes close to partially over 3000 m. From west to east the crawl mountains that Heimefrontfjella that Borgmassivet that Gjelsvikfjella that Mühlig -Hofmann Mountains, which Wohlthat solid, Sør Rondane and the Belgicafjella are the most important mountains. These mountain ranges accumulate the ice of the polar plateau at over 2000 m. The highest mountain is the Jokulkyrkja ( the glacier church) with 3,148 m

Three mighty glaciers " drain " this sector of East Antarctica. At 20 ° W the Stancomb - Wills Glacier flows westward out over the Brunt Ice Shelf. The boundary between the Borgmassivet and Gjelsvikfjella is marked by the Jutulstraumen which feeds the Fimbul Ice Shelf. Between the Wohlthat solid and Sør Rondane of the 200 km wide Carsten- Borchgrevinkisen flows.

The coast is bordered by the following marginal seas of the Southern Ocean, from East to West:

  • Weddell Sea (eastern part )
  • King Haakon VII - Lake
  • Lazarev Sea
  • Riiser -Larsen Lake
  • Kosmonautensee ( western part)

Structure

The Queen Maud Land divided into the following regions or sectors:

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