Nansen Land is 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 far northwestern
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 ...
. It is a part of the
Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, da, Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the 10th List of largest protected areas in the world, largest protected area (the only large ...
.
The
Arctic wolf
The Arctic wolf (''Canis lupus arctos''), also known as the white wolf or polar wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island.https://ecore ...
is present in the peninsula. The northern shore facing the Lincoln sea slopes evenly and is fertile for the area, being the northernmost limit of certain plant species.
History
Nansen Land was named after Arctic explorer
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...
(1861–1930) at the time of
Knud Rasmussen
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic–Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies ...
's
Thule expeditions
Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shetland, northern Scotland, the island of Saa ...
.
American geologist
William E. Davies called the wider range north of
J.P. Koch Fjord and
Frederick E. Hyde Fjord
Frederick E. Hyde Fjord is a fjord in Peary Land, far northern Greenland.
History
The fjord was named by Robert Peary during his 1900 expedition after Frederick Erastus Hyde, one of the founding members and first vice-president of the Peary Arct ...
the "Nansen-Jensen Alps", with the westernmost foothills in Nansen Land, stretching past the De Long Fjord area across
Roosevelt Land
Roosevelt Land ( da, Roosevelts Land) is a peninsula in far northern Greenland. It is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.Google Maps
The territory was named by Robert Peary after US President Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919).
Ge ...
and the
Roosevelt Range
The Roosevelt Range or Roosevelt Mountains ( da, Roosevelt Fjelde) is a mountain range in Northern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. Its highest peak is the highest point in Peary Land.
Locat ...
, and reaching all the way to
Johannes V. Jensen Land in the east.
[W. E. Davies, ''Landscape of Northern Greenland'' 1972]
Geography
Nansen Land is located to the northeast of
Freuchen Land
Freuchen Land is a peninsula in far northwestern Greenland. It is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
History
Freuchen Land was named after Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen (1886–1957), who took part in the 1906–1908 Denmark exp ...
, east of
Sverdrup Island, and west of
Borup Island
Borup Island ( da, Borup Ø), also known as West Jensen Island, is an uninhabited island of the Lincoln Sea in Peary Land, far northern Greenland.
The island was formerly named after Danish zoologist Adolf Severin Jensen (1866 - 1953), professor a ...
and
Amundsen Land
Amundsen Land ( da, Amundsens Land) or Amundsenland, is a peninsula in central North Greenland. It is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.Google Maps
The territory was named after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (1872 – 1928).
G ...
. The westernmost headland is
Cape Payer and the northernmost headland is
Cape Mohn, the northern end of an island at the entrance of
De Long Fjord
De Long Fjord is a fjord system in Peary Land, northern Greenland. To the northwest, the fjord opens into the Lincoln Sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
The fjord is named after arctic explorer George ...
, separated from Nansen Land by a narrow sound.
The peninsula is bounded to the west by the
Mascart Sound, to the southwest by the
J.P. Koch Fjord and to the east by the
Brainard Sound () and
Thomas Thomsen Fjord
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas t ...
, a branch of the De Long Fjord system. The peninsula is cut by faults roughly from east to west. To the southeast lies the
Hans Tausen Ice Cap
Hans Tausen Ice Cap ( da, Hans Tausens Iskappe) is an ice cap in Peary Land, northern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
Age
Ice cores show it is around 3500–4000 years old. It formed since the ...
and to the south the
Sirius Pass, a broad valley connecting J.P. Koch Fjord in the west and Brainard Sound in the east in the area where the peninsula is attached to the mainland and its
ice cap
In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets.
Description
Ice caps are not constrained by topographical features ...
.
[Geology of Nansen Land](_blank)
/ref>
Northwestern Nansen Land is deeply indented on its Lincoln Sea
Lincoln Sea (french: Mer de Lincoln; da, Lincolnhavet) is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada, in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, in the east. The northern limit is defined as the great circle lin ...
shore. The main indentations are Jewell Fjord
Jewell Fjord, also known as "Jewell Inlet", is a fjord in Peary Land, northern Greenland. To the northwest, the fjord opens into the Lincoln Sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History
The fjord is named ...
and Gardiner Fjord.glaciated
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
.GoogleEarth
Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and GIS data onto a 3D globe, allowing users ...
[''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute,'' p. 95]
Bibliography
*H.P. Trettin (ed.), ''Geology of the Innuitian Orogen and Arctic Platform of Canada and Greenland.'' 1991
See also
*Innuitian orogeny
The Innuitian orogeny, sometimes called the Ellesmere orogeny, was a major tectonic (mountain building) episode responsible for the formation of a series of mountain ranges in the Canadian Arctic and Northernmost Greenland. The episode started wit ...
References
External links
Palaeomagnetism of three dyke swarms in Nansen Land, north Greenland (83° N)The Earliest Annelids: Lower Cambrian Polychaetes from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, Peary Land, North GreenlandGreenland Pilot
Peninsulas of Greenland
Peary Land
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