King Frederik VIII Land ( da, Kong Frederik VIII Land) is a major geographic division of northeastern Greenland. It extends above the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

from 76°N to 81°N in a North-South direction along the coast 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 ...

History

This vast desolate region was still uncharted territory around 1900. It was explored by the 1906–08

Denmark 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 ...

, the 1909–12

Alabama Expedition ''Two Against the Ice'' is a non-fiction book authored by Danish explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen. The book details the author's exploration into Greenland, a journey made with his compatriot Iver P. Iversen in 1910. The book was originally published in ...

and by J.P. Koch's 1912–13

Danish Expedition to Queen Louise Land Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, when the ruling monarch was Frederik VIII (1843 – 1912). The area between 79° and 81°30´N was first marked as 'King Frederik VIII Land', after King Frederik VIII of Denmark then the ruling monarch, by the 1906–08 Denmark Expedition in its maps of the region. Einar Storgaard used the name again in a 1927 map, and he also proposed a division of the region into a northern and a southern part with a border along

Nioghalvfjerd Fjord Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (), sometimes referred to as " 79 N Glacier", is a large glacier located in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. It drains an area of of the Greenland Ice Sheet with a flux (quantity of ice moved from the land to ...

. Finally the name came into general usage only after the publication of the 1931–34 Three-year Expedition to East Greenland ''(Treårsekspedition)'' reports.

Geography

King Frederik VIII Land stretches between 76°N along the middle of the Bessel Fjord in the south and 81°N, the boundary running along the middle of the

Independence Fjord Independence Fjord or Independence Sound is a large fjord or sound in the eastern part of northern Greenland. It is about long and up to wide. Its mouth, opening to the Wandel Sea of the Arctic Ocean is located at . In the area around Independe ...

and the

Academy Glacier Foundation Ice Stream is a major ice stream in Antarctica's Pensacola Mountains. The ice stream drains northward for along the west side of the Patuxent Range and the Neptune Range to enter the Ronne Ice Shelf westward of Dufek Massif. The Unit ...

. It is bordered by King Christian X Land on the south, the Wandel Sea to the north, Peary Land to the northwest, and 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 ...

to the west. All its territory is included in the large

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 ...

zone. King Frederik VIII Land includes mountain ranges, such as the

Princess Caroline-Mathilde Alps The Princess Caroline-Mathilde Alps ( da, Prinsesse Caroline Mathilde Alper) are a mountain range system in the Holm Land Peninsula, King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Northeast Greenland ...

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, such as Queen Louise Land, and vast glacier expanses, such as the Storstrommen, the Zachariae Isstrom and the

Nioghalvfjerdsbrae Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (), sometimes referred to as " 79 N Glacier", is a large glacier located in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. It drains an area of of the Greenland Ice Sheet with a flux (quantity of ice moved from the land to th ...

of far northeastern Greenland. In the areas of the shore it also includes fjords, such as the

Skaer Fjord Skaer Fjord, ( da, Skærfjorden, meaning "Reef Fjord") is a fjord in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. History Skaerfjorden was named by the 1906-1908 Denmark expedition, which named it thus owing to the numerous reefs and skerries ...

, the

Ingolf Fjord Ingolf Fjord ( da, Ingolfs Fjord), also known as Ingolf Sound, is a fjord of Greenland's northeastern coast in northern King Frederick VIII Land.GoogleEarth The fjord was named by the 1906-1908 Denmark expedition led by Lauge Koch which mapped Gre ...

and the

Borg Fjord The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge ...

Dove Bay Dove Bay ( da, Dove Bugt) is a bay in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. It is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park area. Etymology Dove bay is said to have been the legendary ''Breidifjòrdr'' of the Sagas of Icelanders. ...

, as well as numerous coastal islands, such as

Hovgaard Island Hovgaard Island is an island long, lying off the northwest coast of Kyiv Peninsula, southwest of Booth Island in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica. It was discovered and named "Krogmann-Insel" (Krogmann Island) by the German 1873–74 expe ...

in the shore of the

or Princess Thyra Island in the Wandel Sea. The Greenland ice sheet reaches the shore at

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 ...

Flade Isblink Flade Isblink is an ice cap on the Crown Prince Christian Land peninsula, King Frederick VIII Land, NE Greenland. Station Nord, the only inhabited place in the region, lies to the northwest, off the ice cap area. History The Flade Isblink was nam ...

, the largest independent

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 ...

in Greenland is also located in King Frederik VIII Land. The area of King Frederik VIII Land is practically uninhabited. Currently the only two inhabited places are: *

Danmarkshavn Danmarkshavn (Denmark's Harbour) is a small weather station located in Dove Bay, on the southern shore of the Germania Land Peninsula, in Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland. History The location was chosen as a suitable winter harbor b ...

weather station is on the southern shore of the

Germania Land Germania Land or Germanialand is a peninsula in northeastern Greenland. Despite the high latitude it is largely unglaciated. History This peninsula was named by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, leader of the Danmark expedition, to commemorate its survey by ...

Peninsula.Danmarkshavn
/ref> It was named by the 1906–08 Denmark Expedition after 'Danmark', the ship of the expedition which wintered there. *

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

, a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

military base/ weather station located further north in the

Crown Prince Christian Land Crown Prince Christian Land ( da, Kronprins Christian Land) is a large peninsula in northern Greenland. It is a part of King Frederick VIII Land and administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. It was named after Crown P ...

Peninsula.

Image gallery

References

{{reflist Geography of Greenland

History

Geography

Image gallery

See also

References