The Leopold and Astrid Coast () is that portion of the coast of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

lying between the western extremity of the

West Ice Shelf The West Ice Shelf is a prominent ice shelf extending about in an east–west direction along the Leopold and Astrid Coast in East Antarctica between Barrier Bay and Posadowsky Bay, and up to 120 km northwards from the continental marg ...

, at 81°24′E, and

Cape Penck Cape Penck is an ice-covered point fronting on the West Ice Shelf about 35 miles west-northwest of Gaussberg, separating the Leopold and Astrid Coast from the Wilhelm II Coast. It was roughly charted by the Western Base Party of the Australasian A ...

, at 87°43′E. It is located in the eastern half of

Princess Elizabeth Land Princess Elizabeth Land is the sector of Antarctica between longitude 73° east and Cape Penck (at 87°43' east). The sector is claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, although this claim is not widely recognized. Ge ...

Exploration

It was discovered and explored in an airplane flight from the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

ship ''Thorshavn'' on January 17, 1934, by Lieutenant Alf Gunnestad and Captain

Nils Larsen Nils Larsen (19 June 1900 – 29 September 1976) was a Norwegian sea captain. Larsen is perhaps most associated with the Norvegia expeditions of Antarctica. Larsen was born in Sandar, and became a noted whaler, captaining a number of whalin ...

. The coast was named by

Lars Christensen Lars Christensen (6 April 1884 – 10 December 1965) was a Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate. He was also a philanthropist with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica. Career Lars Christensen was born at Sandar in Vestfold, Norw ...

, Norwegian

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

magnate and leader of the expedition, for King Leopold and

Queen Astrid Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

References

Coasts of Antarctica Landforms of Princess Elizabeth Land {{PrincessElizabethLand-geo-stub