The Davy Sound ( da, Davy Sund) is a

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

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 ...

, Northeast

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 ...

. Administratively it is part of 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 largest protected area (the only larger protected areas all consist mostly of sea). ...

zone.

History

The sound was named and put on the map by

William Scoresby William Scoresby (5 October 178921 March 1857) was an English whaler, Arctic explorer, scientist and clergyman. Early years Scoresby was born in the village of Cropton near Pickering south-west of Whitby in Yorkshire. His father, William S ...

(1789 – 1857) in 1822 in honour of Cornish chemist and inventor Sir

Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for the ...

(1778 – 1829), president of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

from 1820 to 1827.Place names, NE Greenland
/ref> In 1899, during the Swedish Greenland Expedition on which Swedish

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

Alfred Gabriel Nathorst Alfred Gabriel Nathorst (7 November 1850 – 20 January 1921) was a Swedish Arctic explorer, geologist, and palaeobotanist. Life He was born in Väderbrunn in Sweden. Nathorst's interest in geology was awoken by Charles Lyell’s ‘’Pri ...

found and first mapped King Oscar Fjord, he made southwards for the Davy Sound after having entered from Antarctic Sound. But Davy sound was blocked by ice and Nathorst had to travel back north. Nathorst proposed 72° 10′ N as the northern limit of Davy Sound, which is roughly the present day geographic limit. Lieut. P. F. White of the Cambridge Expedition to East Greenland suggested that the limit of the Davy Sound should be expanded until 72° 30′, at the bend in the fjord trending northward —near the mouth of

Segelsällskapet Fjord Segelsällskapet Fjord ( da, Segelsällskapets Fjord) is a fjord in King Christian X Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively it lies in the Northeast Greenland National Park area. This fjord is part of the King Oscar Fjord system.''Prostar Saili ...

. This proposal, by which the length of the Davy Sound would be greater than that corresponding to King Oscar Fjord, has not found wide acceptance.

Geography

Davy Sound is a broad channel with a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

structure that runs roughly from the

Greenland Sea The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as ...

in the southeast to the northwest for roughly , becoming King Oscar Fjord further to the north. Its minimum width is . The Davy Sound separates the northeastern shore of

Jameson Land Jameson Land is a peninsula in eastern Greenland. Geography Jameson Land is bounded to the southwest by Scoresby Sound (the world's largest fjord), to the northwest by the Stauning Alps, to the north by Scoresby Land, to the northeast by the Fle ...

—part of the Greenland mainland— from the southwestern shore of Traill Island. Cape Simpson rises on the northeastern side of the mouth of the sound and Cape Biot on the southwestern. Antarctic Haven is located on the southwestern shore, about from Cape Biot and

Mesters Vig Mestersvig, also called Mesters Vig, is a military outpost located in Scoresby Land, on the southwestern shore of Davy Sound in King Christian X Land, NE Greenland. It has a 1,800 m gravel airstrip . This airport is located near the Stauning Alps ...

a little further up the same shore.''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute,'' p. 119 Even in the summertime the channel is usually encumbered by ice and tidal currents are strong and dangerous for navigation.William Scoresby, ''Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale-Fishery. Including Researches and Discoveries on the Eastern Coast of West Greenland,'' p. 268

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Explanatory notes to the Geological map of GreenlandAntarctic Havn
Sounds of North America Straits of Greenland Fjords of Greenland

History

Geography

See also

References

External links