Germania Land or Germanialand is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in northeastern

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 ...

. Despite the high latitude it is largely

unglaciated 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#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often cen ...

History

This peninsula was named 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- ...

, leader of the

Danmark 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 ...

, to commemorate its survey by the Second

German North Polar Expedition The German North Polar Expeditions were a short series of mid-19th century German expeditions to the Arctic. The aim was to explore the North Pole region and to brand the newly united, Prussian-led German Empire as a great power. In 1866, German g ...

led by

Carl Koldewey Carl Christian Koldewey (26 October 1837 – 17 May 1908) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expeditions. Life and career Koldewey was the son of merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Koldew ...

in 1869 on the vessel ''Germania'' and as a compliment to

Alfred Wegener Alfred Lothar Wegener (; ; 1 November 1880 – November 1930) was a German climatologist, geologist, geophysicist, meteorologist, and polar researcher. During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and ...

, the German member of the ''Danmark expedition''. In central Germania Land there is a

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

erected by the members of the Second German North Polar Expedition on 15 April 1870 in order to mark the farthest northern point they reached.

Geography

Germania Land is located in

King Frederick VIII Land King Frederik VIII Land (; ) is a major geographic division of northeastern Greenland. It extends above the Arctic Circle from 76°N to 81°N in a North-South direction along the coast of the Greenland Sea. History This vast desolate region ...

, in 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 ...

, between the

Skaerfjord Skaer Fjord (, meaning "Reef Fjord"), is a fjord in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. History Skaerfjorden was named by the 1906–1908 Denmark expedition, which named it thus owing to the numerous reefs and skerry, skerries in it ...

and

Dove Bay Dove Bay () is a bay in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. It is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park area. Etymology Dove bay is said to have been the legendary ''Breidifjòrdr'' of the Sagas of Icelanders. It was named ...

Store Koldewey Store Koldewey, meaning 'Big Koldewey', is the largest of the Koldewey Islands in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. History The island was visited by the Second German North Polar Expedition 1869–70, led by Carl Koldewey and r ...

island lies south of

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 ...

, the southeastern point of the peninsula. The Musk Ox Mountains ''(Moskusoksefjeldene)'' are a hill range located east of Hvalrosodden, a small peninsula. There are also two lakes with a fjord structure,

Seal Lake Seal Lake (), also known as Sael Lake, Saelso, Saelsöen and Sælsø, is a land-locked freshwater fjord in southern King Frederick VIII Land, in Greenland's northeastern coast. The Danish weather station Danmarkshavn —the only inhabited place ...

and Annex Lake. The

Danmarkshavn Danmarkshavn (Denmark's Harbour) is a small weather station located in Dove Bay, on the northeastern shore of the Germania Land Peninsula, in Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland. History The location was chosen as a suitable winter harb ...

weather station is on the southern shore of the Germania Land Peninsula.Danmarkshavn
/ref> It was named by the 1906–08 Danmark Expedition after 'Danmark', the ship of the expedition which wintered there. ,

Bibliography

* Koldewey, Carl (1874) ''German Arctic Expedition of 1869-70, and Narrative of the Wreck of the 'Hansa' in the Ice,'' London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle

References

External links

* Peninsulas of Greenland {{greenland-geo-stub