Queen Maud Land

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Queen Maud Land (Norwegian: Dronning Maud Land) is the part of Antarctica lying between the terminus of Stancomb-Wills Glacier, at 20°W and Shinnan Glacier, at 44°38'E in the area claimed by Norway on January 14, 1938. This claim, like all others in the Antarctic, is not universally recognized and is subject to the terms of the Antarctic Treaty System. If one accepts the claim, it is by far the largest part of Norway. It has a land area of approximately 2.5 million km², mostly covered by the Antarctic ice sheet.

1 Sectors
2 Chronology
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Sectors

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

No.	Sector	Area (km²)	Western Border	Eastern Border
1	Kronprinsesse Märtha Kyst	970 000	020°00' W	005°00' E
2	Prinsesse Astrid Kyst	580 000	005°00' E	020°00' E
3	Prinsesse Ragnhild Kyst	540 000	020°00' E	034°00' E
4	Prins Harald Kyst	230 000	034°00' E	040°00' E
5	Prins Olav Kyst	180 000	040°00' E	044°38' E
	DRONNING MAUD LAND	2,500,000	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.

In 1985, Norway established the Tor research station at Svarthammaren on Queen Maud Land's Princess Martha Coast; and in 2005, Queen Sonja of Norway opened another research station named Troll at Jutulsessen. It is unlike other Antarctic research stations in that it is not located on the ice but on a snow-free rock-covered slope.

[edit] 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.
Jan 24, 1895	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.
Dec 14, 1911	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.
Jan 14, 1938	Dronning Maud Land, identified as the area lying from 45° to 20°E, is formally claimed by Norway.
Jan 19, 1939 to May 23, 1945	The area 20°E to 10°W is claimed by Nazi Germany as "German New Swabia" (Deutsche Neuschwabenland). It is not recognized by any other nation.
Jan 13, 1941	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.