Danmark Fjord | |
---|---|
Denmark Sound | |
Location | Arctic |
Coordinates | 81°40′N26°20′W / 81.667°N 26.333°W |
Ocean/sea sources | Wandel Sea |
Basin countries | Greenland |
Frozen | Practically all year round |
Danmark Fjord (Danish : Danmarksfjorden), also known as Denmark Sound , is a fjord in northeast Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park.
The fjord was explored and named after the expedition ship Danmark at the time of the ill-fated Denmark expedition 1906-1908 led by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, which mapped Greenland's northeastern coast between Cape Bridgman and Cape Bismarck. [1]
In May 1907 Mylius-Erichsen entered the unknown Danmark Fjord with his three-dogsled exploration team, deeming it would be leading him to the Navy Cliff and the postulated Peary Channel, which in fact did not exist. The team, which included cartographer Niels Peter Høeg Hagen and dogsled expert Jørgen Brønlund, travelled southwestwards until the head of the fjord and, becoming aware that it was a dead end, they backtracked to the northeast.
By the end of May Mylius-Erichsen's team was back again at the mouth of the fjord. As they met Johan Peter Koch's northern team at Cape Rigsdagen, already on their way back from Cape Bridgman, Mylius-Erichsen realized that they had wasted precious time and provisions by entering the long unexplored fjord. The delay would eventually lead the three men to their death as they pressed westward along the southern shore of Independence Fjord instead of returning to the ship. [2]
This fjord, together with Independence Fjord has its mouth in the Wandel Sea, which is part of the Arctic Ocean. Three islands are located in the bay at the mouth of the sound, Princess Thyra Island, Princess Margaret Island and Princess Dagmar Island. [3] The area was formerly part of Avannaa, originally Nordgrønland ("North Greenland"), a former county of Greenland until 31 December 2008.
The Danish military base and weather station Nord is located by the sound on the western side of Crown Prince Christian Land, the peninsula on the eastern side. Mylius-Erichsen Land is the peninsula to the west. Unlike other fjords in the area, there is no large calving glacier at the head of the Danmark Fjord, but it is icebound the whole year round.
Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen was a Danish author, ethnologist, and explorer, from Ringkøbing. He was most notably an explorer of Greenland.
Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the northernmost point of Greenland's mainland, and Cape Bridgman in the northeast.
The Wandel Sea is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from northeast of Greenland to Svalbard. It is obstructed by ice most of the year.
Ejnar Mikkelsen was a Danish polar explorer and writer. He is most known for his expeditions to Greenland.
Germania Land or Germanialand is a peninsula in northeastern Greenland. Despite the high latitude it is largely unglaciated.
Independence Fjord or Independence Sound is a large fjord or sound in the eastern part of northern Greenland. It is about 200 km (120 mi) long and up to 30 km (19 mi) wide. Its mouth, opening to the Wandel Sea of the Arctic Ocean is located at 82°15′N21°54′W.
Hagen Fjord is a fjord in north-eastern Greenland. It was named after Niels Peter Høeg Hagen, the cartographer of the main exploration team of the ill-fated Denmark expedition.
Jørgen Brønlund was a Greenlandic polar explorer, educator, and catechist. He participated in two Danish expeditions to Greenland in the early 20th century.
Tobias Island is a small island off the northeastern coast of Greenland.
Saunders Island is an island in North Star Bay, Baffin Bay in the Avannaata municipality of northwest Greenland. The island is named after Commander James Saunders of the British Royal Navy.
King 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 North-South direction along the coast of the Greenland Sea.
The Denmark expedition, also known as the Denmark Expedition to Greenland's Northeast Coast and the Danmark Expedition after the ship's name, was an expedition to northeastern Greenland in 1906–1908.
Lambert Land is a land area —possibly a peninsula or an island— in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park area.
Cape Bridgman is a headland in the Wandel Sea, Arctic Ocean, northeast Greenland.
Niels Peter Høeg Hagen was a Danish military officer, polar explorer and cartographer. He participated and perished in the ill-fated Denmark expedition to NE Greenland in 1906.
Mylius-Erichsen Land is a peninsula in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area.
Benedict Fjord is a fjord in Peary Land, northern Greenland. To the north, the fjord opens into the Lincoln Sea of the Arctic Ocean.
The Daly Range or Daly Mountains is a mountain range in Peary Land, Northern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
The Peary Channel was a hypothetical sound or marine channel running from east to west separating Peary Land in northernmost Greenland from the mainland further south.