Geography of Queen Maud Land
|
Queen Maud Land Dronning Maud Land
|
|
|---|---|
|
|
Location of Queen Maud Land (red)
in Antarctica (white) |
|
| Government | Dependent territory |
|
• Administration
|
Ministry of Justice and the Police |
| Norwegian dependency | |
|
• Annexed
|
14 January 1939 |
| 19 January 1939 | |
|
• Dependency
|
21 June 1957 |
| 23 June 1961 | |
|
• Expanded
|
15 June 2015 |
| Area | |
|
• Total
|
2,700,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi) |
| ISO 3166 code | AQ |
in Antarctica (white)
Queen Maud Land (Norwegian: Dronning Maud Land) is a c. 2.7 million-square-kilometre (1 million sq mi) region of Antarctica claimed as a dependent territory by Norway. The territory lies between 20° west and 45° east, between the British Antarctic Territory to the west and the Australian Antarctic Territory to the east. On most maps there had been an unclaimed area between Queen Maud Land's borders of 1939 and the South Pole until June 12, 2015 when Norway formally annexed that area. Positioned in East Antarctica, the territory comprises about one-fifth of the total area of Antarctica. The claim is named after the Norwegian queen Maud of Wales (1869–1938).
Norwegian Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen was the first person known to have set foot in the territory, in 1930. On 14 January 1939, the territory was claimed by Norway. From 1939 until 1945, Nazi Germany claimed New Swabia, which consisted of part of Queen Maud Land. On 23 June 1961, Queen Maud Land became part of the Antarctic Treaty System, making it a demilitarised zone. It is one of two Antarctic claims made by Norway, the other being Peter I Island. They are administrated by the Polar Affairs Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Oslo.
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Wikipedia