The Wandel Sea ( da, Wandelhavet; also known as McKinley Sea) is a body of water in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, stretching from northeast of Greenland to Svalbard. It is obstructed by ice most of the year. This sea is named after Danish

polar explorer This list is for recognised pioneering explorers of the polar regions. It does not include subsequent travelers and expeditions. Polar explorers * Jameson Adams * Stian Aker * Valerian Albanov * Roald Amundsen * Salomon August Andrée * Piotr ...

and hydrographer, Vice Admiral Carl Frederick Wandel, who in the years 1895–96 explored the coastal waters of Greenland as part of the Danish

Ingolf Expedition HDMS ''Ingolf'' was a Danish schooner-rigged steam gunboat build in iron and launched in 1876. ''Ingolf'' marks a transition between the traditional gunships with muzzle-loading cannons placed along the sides of the ship and modern breechloading ...

Geography

This arctic sea is located at 82° north longitude and 21° west latitude. Seas farther north and northwest of the Wandel Sea were once frozen year-round but now may have open water in late summer, as of August 2018.ftp://ftp-projects.cen.uni-hamburg.de/seaice/AMSR2/3.125km/ The Wandel Sea stretches westward as far as

Cape Morris Jesup Cape Morris Jesup ( da, Kap Morris Jesup) is a headland in Peary Land, Greenland. Geography Cape Morris Jesup is the northernmost point of mainland Greenland. It is from the geographic North Pole. It is located in Johannes V. Jensen Land, abo ...

. Further west is the

Lincoln Sea Lincoln Sea (french: Mer de Lincoln; da, Lincolnhavet) is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada, in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, in the east. The northern limit is defined as the great circle lin ...

. In the south, it stretches to

Nordostrundingen Nordostrundingen (corrupted from da, Nordøstrundingen which means Northeastern rounding, in English Northeast Foreland), is a headland located at the northeastern end of Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National ...

. The Wandel Sea connects to the Greenland Sea in the south through the

Fram Strait The Fram Strait is the passage between Greenland and Svalbard, located roughly between 77°N and 81°N latitudes and centered on the prime meridian. The Greenland and Norwegian Seas lie south of Fram Strait, while the Nansen Basin of the Arcti ...

. Independence Fjord and Frederick E. Hyde Fjord are two great fjords of the far-northeast Greenland coast having their mouths in the Wandel Sea. Google Earth G.B. Schley Fjord and

Hellefisk Fjord Hellefisk Fjord ( da, Hellefiskefjord) is a fjord in Peary Land, northern Greenland. To the northeast, the fjord opens into the Wandel Sea of the Arctic Ocean. This fjord is named after the Greenland halibut ( da, Hellefisk). Geography The Hellefi ...

are smaller fjords located between both. Islands include:

Princess Thyra Island Princess Thyra Island ( da, Prinsesse Thyra Ø) is an uninhabited island of the Wandel Sea, Greenland. The island is within King Frederick VIII Land in the Northeast Greenland National Park. The island was named after Princess Thyra of Denmark. ...

, the largest,

Kaffeklubben Island Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island ( da, Kaffeklubben Ø; kl, Inuit Qeqertaat) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern tip of Greenland. It contains the northernmost undisputed point of land on Earth. Discovery The first re ...

, the northernmost, as well as

Princess Dagmar Island Princess Dagmar Island ( da, Prinsesse Dagmar Ø) is an uninhabited coastal island of the Wandel Sea in King Frederick VIII Land, Greenland. The island was named after Princess Dagmar of Denmark. The Danish military base/weather station Nord i ...

, located not far from

Station Nord Station Nord is a military and scientific station in northeastern Greenland 1700 km north of the Arctic Circle. It is about from the geographic North Pole, on Princess Ingeborg Peninsula ( da, Prinsesse Ingeborg Halvø) in northern Kro ...

, the only inhabited place in the area.

References

{{List of seas Seas of Greenland Seas of Norway Seas of the Arctic Ocean Geography of North America Geography of Northern Europe

Geography

See also

References