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Queen Maud Land

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Territorial claims of Antarctica

Queen Maud Land is an English translation of Dronning Maud Land, the official name in use by Norwegian authorities and British Antarctic Survey on the part of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory, on January 14, 1939. This claim, like all others in the Antarctic, is not universally recognized and is subject to the terms of the Antarctic Treaty System. It has a land area of approximately 2.5 million square kilometers (one million sq mi), mostly covered by the Antarctic ice sheet lying between the British claim, at 20°W and the Australian claim, at 44°38'E. Norway has not officially elaborated as to the northernly and southernly extent of their claim. This explains why the Norwegian claim is illustrated differently from other claims on some maps of Antarctica. It is however generally assumed that the Norwegian claim follows the norms of the other Antarctic claims. The Norwegian claim has been officially recognised by Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.[1]

Regions

Queen Maud Land is divided into five coastal regions which can be thought of extending as sectors to the South Pole, from west to east (clockwise)[1]:

No. Region Area Western Border Eastern Border
km² sq mi
1 Kronprinsesse Märtha Kyst 970,000 370,000 020°00' W 005°00' E
2 Prinsesse Astrid Kyst 580,000 220,000 005°00' E 020°00' E
3 Prinsesse Ragnhild Kyst 540,000 210,000 020°00' E 034°00' E
4 Prins Harald Kyst 230,000 90,000 034°00' E 040°00' E
5 Prins Olav Kyst 180,000 70,000 040°00' E 044°38' E
6 Haakon VII's Vidde The Polar Plateau is considered a sixth region.
With an undefined northern border (approx. 80°S)
its area is contained in sectors 1 through 5
  Dronning Maud Land 2,500,000 970,000 020°00' W 044°38' E

The area was first visited in 1930 by Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen as part of efforts to map the Antarctic. Roald Amundsen had previously named it in honour of Queen Maud of Norway and the entire plateau surrounding the South Pole Haakon VII's Vidde in honour of King Haakon VII of Norway. The area originally identified by Amundsen as Queen Maud Land lay between 37° and 50° E.

Research stations

Norway operates two research stations in Antarctica, both in Queen Maud Land:

Research Stations of other nations include:

Station type Nation year
established		 Region Area Coordinates Elevation km from
coast
SANAE IV "Vesles" year-
round		 South Africa 1994 Princess Martha Coast Vesleskarvet 71°24′S 2°31′W / 71.400°S 2.517°W / -71.400; -2.517 . 10
Neumayer Station year-
round		 Germany 1992 Princess Martha Coast Atka Bay 70°39′S 08°15′W / 70.650°S 8.250°W / -70.650; -8.250 . 8

Chronology

1832 John Biscoe's expedition claims to sight Graham Land, although one source states it was Anvers Island.
1893 Carl Anton Larsen discovers and names Graham Land's Foyn Coast; also King Oscar Land, Mount Jason and Robertson Island.
1895-01-24 Carsten Borchgrevink makes what is claimed to be the first landing on Antarctica. Three years later he leads the first party to winter on the continent.
1911-12-14 Five Norwegians, led by Roald Amundsen, are the first to reach the South Pole.
1930 Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen flies over the area previously named Dronning Maud Land (Queen Maud Land) by Roald Amundsen.
1938-01-14 Dronning Maud Land, identified as the area lying from 45° to 20°E, is formally claimed by Norway.
1939-01-19
–1945-05-23		 The area 20°E to 10°W is claimed by Nazi Germany as "German New Swabia" (Deutsch Neuschwabenland).
1941-01-13 German commandos board and capture two Norwegian factory ships in the sea north of Queen Maud Land. By the end of the next day, the Germans had taken possession of three factory ships and eleven catchers. The German Navy subsequently uses a harbor on Kerguelen Island as a base from which to attack Allied shipping.
1948 The Norwegian Polar Institute, as part of the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, is assigned the administration of Dronning Maud Land.
1957 In Norway, Dronning Maud Land becomes subject to Norwegian sovereignty as a dependency.
1961-06-23 Antarctic Treaty officially entered into force.
2005 Queen Sonja of Norway officially opened the research station Troll as an allyear station.
2008 Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visits Dronning Maud Land and personally names three mountains.

References

  1. ^ "Antarctic Treaty System, An assessment. Workshop on the Antarctic Treaty System http://books.google.com/books?id=gNxjxfm4cSgC&pg=PA370&lpg=PA370&dq=territorial+claim+antarctica+recognized&source=web&ots=TD7OWwt-XV&sig=5yO1y3HG7jhFZatImGzZfk01cjs

See also

Alpinist Magazine Climbing Notes-First Ascents in Queen Maud Land

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