Duke of Orleans Land ( da, Hertugen af Orléans Land) is a land area —possibly a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

— in

King Frederick VIII Land King Frederick VIII Land ( da, Kong Frederik VIII Land) is a major geographic division of northeastern Greenland. It extends above the Arctic Circle from 76°N to 81°N in a N/S direction along the coast of the Greenland Sea. History This vast ...

, northeastern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area.

Geography

The Duke of Orleans Land is bounded in the north by the

Zachariae Isstrom Zachariae Isstrom ( da, Zachariae Isstrøm; Isstrøm being the Danish word for ice stream) is a large glacier located in King Frederick VIII Land, northeast Greenland. This glacier was named by the Denmark expedition 1906–08 after Georg Hugh R ...

, beyond which rises

Lambert Land Lambert Land is a land area —possibly a peninsula or an island— in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. Geography Lambert Land is bounded in the north by the ...

, in the east by the

Jokel Bay Jokel Bay ( da, Jøkelbugten) is a large bay in North Eastern Greenland. The area of the bay is uninhabited. Administratively Jokel Bay and its surroundings belong to the Northeast Greenland National Park. The bay was named after an old Norse word ...

of the

Greenland Sea The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as p ...

, in the south by the Kofoed-Hansen Glacier, beyond which rises Nordmarken. To the west rises the

Greenland Ice Sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( da, Grønlands indlandsis, kl, Sermersuaq) is a vast body of ice covering , roughly near 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is sometimes referred to as an ice cap, or under the term ''inland ice'', or its Danish equiva ...

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

The Bildsøe Nunatak rises roughly in the central area. Other important

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit ''nunataq'') is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. ...

s in the area are the Laub Nunataks, Gronne Nunatak, Garde Nunataks, Mokke Nunataks and

Pic de Gerlache Pic de Gerlache is a mountain in King Frederick VIII Land, NE Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History This nunatak was named in 1905 by the Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926), Duke ...

. Near the northern end flows the Gammel Hellerup Glacier into Jokel Bay and the Blæse Glacier further south. The area is largely glaciated and it includes the Sønderland, Søndre Mellemland, Mellemland and Nørreland —with the Norre Biland and Nørre Mellemland— sections. The

Alabama Nunatak Alabama Nunatak is a nunatak in the King Frederick VIII Land area of northeastern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone. History This nunatak was named by Ejnar Mikkelsen after his ship during the 1 ...

rises beyond the SW end.

History

Duke of Orleans Land was named in 1905 by the Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans during his Arctic Expedition on ship

Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...

, when he explored parts of the northeastern coast of Greenland. Initially the Duke named it ''Terre de France'' (French Land), but the Danish administration vetoed the name. Following consultations with Belgian explorer

Adrien de Gerlache Baron Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (; 2 August 1866 – 4 December 1934) was a Belgian officer in the Belgian Royal Navy who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99. Early years Born in Hasselt in eastern Belgium as t ...

(1866–1934), the 1906–08

Danmark Expedition The Denmark expedition ( da, Danmark-ekspeditionen), also known as the Denmark Expedition to Greenland's Northeast Coast, and as the Danmark Expedition after the ship, was an expedition to the northeast of Greenland in 1906–1908. Despite being ...

placed the name "Duke of Orleans Land" in the present location.''Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland'', Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

References

External links

Regional Caledonian structure of Hertugen af Orleans Land, North-East GreenlandThe Arctic voyages of Louis-Philippe-Robert, Duc d'Orléans
Peninsulas of Greenland {{greenland-geo-stub fr:Terre du duc d'Orléans nl:Hertogen van Orléansland