Danmark Fjord (), also known as Denmark

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 the br ...

, is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in northeast

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. Administratively it belongs to the

Northeast Greenland National Park Northeast Greenland National Park (, ) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas consist mostly of sea). Established in 1974, the Northeast Greenland national park expanded to its p ...

. The fjord was explored and named after the expedition ship '' Danmark'' at the time of the ill-fated

Denmark expedition 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. Despite being overshadowed by the dea ...

1906-1908 led by

Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen (15 January 1872 – 25 November 1907) was a Danish author, ethnologist, and explorer, from Ringkøbing. He was most notably an explorer of Greenland. Literary expedition With Count Harald Moltke and Knud Rasmussen Mylius- ...

, which mapped Greenland's northeastern coast between

Cape Bridgman Cape Bridgman () is a headland in the Wandel Sea, Arctic Ocean, northeast Greenland. The cape was named by Robert Peary after Herbert L. Bridgman, one of the members of the Peary Arctic Club in New York. The northernmost human remains of the I ...

and

Cape Bismarck Cape Bismarck () is a headland in King Frederick VIII Land, Northeast Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History Cape Bismarck was first mapped by Carl Koldewey (1837–1908) during the 1869–1870 S ...

History

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 Niels Peter Høeg Hagen (15 October 1877 – 15 November 1907) was a Danish military officer, polar explorer and cartographer. He participated and perished in the ill-fated Denmark expedition to NE Greenland in 1906. The Denmark expedition H ...

and dogsled expert

Jørgen Brønlund Jørgen Brønlund (14 December 1877 – November 1907) was a Kalaallit, Greenlandic List of polar explorers, polar explorer, educator, and Catechism, catechist. He participated in two Danish expeditions to Greenland in the early 20th century. ...

, 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

, 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 Independence Fjord or Independence Sound is a large fjord or sound in the eastern part of northern Greenland. It is about long and up to wide. Its mouth, opening to the Wandel Sea of the Arctic Ocean is located at . In the area around Indepen ...

instead of returning to the ship.

Geography

This fjord, together with

has its mouth in the

Wandel Sea The Wandel Sea (; also known as McKinley Sea) is a body of water in the Greenland Sea, stretching from northeast of Greenland to Svalbard. It is obstructed by ice most of the year. This sea is named after Danish polar explorer and hydrographer, ...

, which is part of the

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

. Three islands are located in the bay at the mouth of the sound,

Princess Thyra Island Princess Thyra Island () 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. Geography This island ...

, Princess Margaret Island and Princess Dagmar Island.Prinsesse Thyra Ø
/ref> The area was formerly part of

Avannaa Avannaa, originally Nordgrønland ("North Greenland"), was one of the three counties () of Greenland, which existed until 31 December 2008. The county seat was Qaanaaq, the main settlement. It was one of the least-densely populated administrat ...

, originally Nordgrønland ("North Greenland"), a former county of Greenland until 31 December 2008. The Danish

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

and

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

is located by the sound on the western side of

Crown Prince Christian Land Crown Prince Christian Land () is a large peninsula in northern Greenland. It is a part of King Frederick VIII Land and administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. It was named after Crown Prince Christian, later Christia ...

, the peninsula on the eastern side.

Mylius-Erichsen Land Mylius-Erichsen Land is a peninsula in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. Geography Mylius-Erichsen Land is bounded in the north by the Independence Fjord, in the ...

is the peninsula to the west. Unlike other fjords in the area, there is no large calving

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

at the head of the Danmark Fjord, but it is icebound the whole year round.

References

External links

The ice conditions and climatic variations in Greenland
Sounds of the Arctic Ocean Fjords of Greenland {{Marine-geo-stub

History

Geography

See also

References

External links