Mestersvig, also called Mesters Vig, is a military outpost located in

Scoresby Land Scoresby Land is an area of Eastern Greenland, which lies partly in Sermersooq and partly in the Northeast Greenland National Park zone. The area is uninhabited, except for Mestersvig, a military outpost. Muskoxen are found in Scoresby Land, and ...

, on the southwestern shore of

Davy Sound The Davy Sound ( da, Davy Sund) is a sound in King Christian X Land, Northeast Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone. History The sound was named and put on the map by William Scoresby (1789 – 1857) ...

King Christian X Land King Christian X Land ( da, Kong Christian X Land) is an area of northeastern Greenland. History This area was named after King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland (1870 – 1947), who rose to the throne in 1912. At the time of the Three-year E ...

, NE

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 has a 1,800 m gravel

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

. This airport is located near the

Stauning Alps The Stauning Alps ( da, Stauning Alper) are a large system of mountain ranges in Scoresby Land, King Christian X Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively the Stauning Alps are part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone. This mounta ...

mountainous area.

History

From 1956 to 1963, Mestersvig was a

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

. Later Mestersvig used to be the only permanent station in 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 ...

but all of the 1986 population of 40 has been split up into the three newer Northeast Greenland National Park research stations (

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 ...

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 ...

and

Daneborg Daneborg (or Daneborg Station) is a station on the south coast of Wollaston Foreland peninsula of northeast Greenland, at the mouth of Young Sund emptying into Greenland Sea. Daneborg serves as the headquarters for the SIRIUS Patrol, the dog sle ...

) except a permanent population of two people, although tourists visit the station occasionally. In September 2015, as part of the newest defence agreement to increase the enforcement of sovereignty in Greenland, Mission Mestersvig was executed. The mission was to test the responsiveness of the

military of Denmark Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...

and if the equipment could handle winter weather. HDMS ''Thetis'', parts of the Guard Hussar Regiment,

Hunter Corps The Jaeger Corps also known as the Huntsmen Corps ( da, Jægerkorpset) is an elite special operations force of the Danish Defence Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdo ...

and the

Danish Frogman Corps The Frogman Corps ( da, Frømandskorpset) is the maritime special operations force of the Danish Defence part of Special Operations Command. On 1 July 2015, the Frogman Corps transferred from the Royal Danish Navy to the newly established Spec ...

all participated in the exercise.

References

Research stations in Greenland {{Greenland-geo-stub

History

See also

References