Princess Martha Coast

72°0′S 7°30′W / 72.000°S 7.500°W / -72.000; -7.500 Princess Martha Coast (Norwegian: Kronprinsesse Märtha Kyst) is that portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land lying between 05° E and the terminus of Stancomb-Wills Glacier, at 20° W. The entire coastline is bounded by ice shelves with ice cliffs 20 to 35 metres (66 to 115 ft) high.

Princess Martha Coast was the first portion of Antarctic mainland discovered by a human, Fabian von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev in 1820. The name "Crown Princess Martha Land" was originally applied by Capt. Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen to that section of the coast in the vicinity of Cape Norvegia which he discovered from the Norvegia and roughly charted from the air during February 1930.

On 19 January 1939 Nazi Germany reached the Martha Coast, as part of the German Antarctic Expedition.

It is named in honour of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway.

Troll is located in the eastern part, 235 kilometres (146 mi) from the coast. Explora Escarpment is an undersea escarpment off the coast.

Further reading

• Messick, M.; Splettstoesser, John F.; Harrison, Peter; Gavrilo, Maria (April 1999). "New breeding site for emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) on Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica". Polar Record. 35 (193): 156–157. doi:10.1017/S0032247400026528. ISSN 1475-3057.

References

  This article incorporates public domain material from . Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.