In 1912 Knud Rasmussen, during his First Thule Expedition, compared favorably Melville Land with the barren and desolate land that he had crossed south of Independence Fjord. He marveled at the abundance of game, including muskoxen, hares and ptarmigan. Birdlife was plentiful, and many seals lay out on the ice of the fjord, basking in the sun. He mentioned that
It was a real delight to see not clay, nor rocks, nor gravel, but earth; mould, dotted everywhere with red-blossoming saxifrage.[5]
The territory was finally mapped with accuracy by Lauge Koch from a height of 2,438 metres (7,999 ft) during his cartographic air expedition of 1938. Koch noted in his exploration that the land was ice-free.[6][7][5]
Section of Robert Peary's map "Polar Regions" published in 1903.
Geographyedit
Melville Land is located in southern Peary Land, on the northern side of the middle section of the Independence Fjord. To the west it is limited by the Bronlund Fjord, and to the east by Kjovesletten, a small coastal area beyond which lies Herlufsholm Strand. Cape Harald Moltke marks the southwestern end and Cape Caroline Marie the southeastern. The Børglum River flows from the Nordkrone southwards at the western end.[8][1]
Remarkably for the high latitude the terrain is unglaciated. The part along the shore of Independence Fjord has high sandstone cliffs with elevations averaging 460 metres (1,509 ft), including the Pyramide Plateau in the western sector. The banks near the shore are dissected by small river valleys and ravines. The inner part to the north is mountainous and not clearly delimited, with the highest point reaching 1,157 metres (3,796 ft).[9]
Bibliographyedit
H.P. Trettin (ed.), Geology of the Innuitian Orogen and Arctic Platform of Canada and Greenland. 1991
B. Fristrup, Winderosion within the Arctic Deserts. 1953
^Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin), 1856-1920, Northward over the great ice: a narrative of life and work along the shores and upon the interior ice-cap of northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891-1897, with a description of the little tribe of Smith Sound Eskimos, the most northerly human beings in the world, and an account of the discovery and bringing home of the Saviksue or great Cape York meteorites,1898
^Independence Fjord, Peary, and the First Thule Expedition
^ abGeographical Items on North Greenland - Encyclopedia Arctica 14
^Dan Laursen, The Place Names of North Greenland. Kommissionen for Videnskabelige Undersøgelser i Grønland (ed.): Meddelelser om Grønland. Vol. 180, Nr. 2. C. A. Reitzels Forlag, Kopenhagen 1972, ISBN 87-421-0070-4, p. 244
The Project Gutenberg eBook of My Arctic journal, by Josephine Diebitsch-Peary
mindat.org - Odins Fjord - Melville Land, Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland
Full text of "Greenland" - Internet Archive
January 01, 1970
melville, land, area, peary, land, north, greenland, administratively, part, northeast, greenland, national, park, nasa, image, northern, greenland, geographylocationpeary, land, greenlandcoordinates82, 167adjacent, toindependence, fjordbrønlund, fjordlength80. Melville Land is an area in Peary Land North Greenland Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park 1 2 Melville LandNASA image of far Northern Greenland Melville LandGeographyLocationPeary Land GreenlandCoordinates82 20 N 27 10 W 82 333 N 27 167 W 82 333 27 167Adjacent toIndependence FjordBronlund FjordLength80 km 50 mi Width40 km 25 mi Highest elevation1 157 m 3796 ft Highest pointUnnamedAdministrationGreenland Denmark DemographicsPopulationUninhabited Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Bibliography 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editRobert Peary named the territory together with Heilprin Land in 1892 during his North Greenland Expedition sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia He named it after Chief Engineer George W Melville 1841 1912 chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering of the United States Navy Peary sighted the coast of Melville Land shore from afar to the northeast He drew a rough map based on the panorama that he saw from Navy Cliff at the head of Independence Fjord but did not explore the area 3 4 In 1912 Knud Rasmussen during his First Thule Expedition compared favorably Melville Land with the barren and desolate land that he had crossed south of Independence Fjord He marveled at the abundance of game including muskoxen hares and ptarmigan Birdlife was plentiful and many seals lay out on the ice of the fjord basking in the sun He mentioned thatIt was a real delight to see not clay nor rocks nor gravel but earth mould dotted everywhere with red blossoming saxifrage 5 The territory was finally mapped with accuracy by Lauge Koch from a height of 2 438 metres 7 999 ft during his cartographic air expedition of 1938 Koch noted in his exploration that the land was ice free 6 7 5 nbsp Section of Robert Peary s map Polar Regions published in 1903 Geography editMelville Land is located in southern Peary Land on the northern side of the middle section of the Independence Fjord To the west it is limited by the Bronlund Fjord and to the east by Kjovesletten a small coastal area beyond which lies Herlufsholm Strand Cape Harald Moltke marks the southwestern end and Cape Caroline Marie the southeastern The Borglum River flows from the Nordkrone southwards at the western end 8 1 Remarkably for the high latitude the terrain is unglaciated The part along the shore of Independence Fjord has high sandstone cliffs with elevations averaging 460 metres 1 509 ft including the Pyramide Plateau in the western sector The banks near the shore are dissected by small river valleys and ravines The inner part to the north is mountainous and not clearly delimited with the highest point reaching 1 157 metres 3 796 ft 9 Bibliography editH P Trettin ed Geology of the Innuitian Orogen and Arctic Platform of Canada and Greenland 1991 B Fristrup Winderosion within the Arctic Deserts 1953See also editCartographic expeditions to Greenland Innuitian orogenyReferences edit a b Nunat Aqqi Stednavne Google Maps Peary Robert E Robert Edwin 1856 1920 Northward over the great ice a narrative of life and work along the shores and upon the interior ice cap of northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891 1897 with a description of the little tribe of Smith Sound Eskimos the most northerly human beings in the world and an account of the discovery and bringing home of the Saviksue or great Cape York meteorites 1898 Independence Fjord Peary and the First Thule Expedition a b Geographical Items on North Greenland Encyclopedia Arctica 14 Sailing Directions for the East Coast of Greenland United States Hydrographic Office p 264 Dan Laursen The Place Names of North Greenland Kommissionen for Videnskabelige Undersogelser i Gronland ed Meddelelser om Gronland Vol 180 Nr 2 C A Reitzels Forlag Kopenhagen 1972 ISBN 87 421 0070 4 p 244 GoogleEarth Map of far Northern Greenland External links editThe Project Gutenberg eBook of My Arctic journal by Josephine Diebitsch Peary mindat org Odins Fjord Melville Land Northeast Greenland National Park Greenland Full text of Greenland Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Melville Land amp oldid 1194566721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
