Victoria Land

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The location of Viktorialand in Antarctica
Map of the Ross Sea and the surrounding area, with Victorialand at the bottom right

Viktorialand ( English Victoria Land ) is a region in East Antarctica , which lies between Wilkesland or Adélieland in the west and Oatesland in the east. Including the Oatesland, the Ross Sea forms the eastern boundary. The area was discovered by James Clark Ross on January 11, 1841 . The Norwegian polar explorer Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink made the first landing at Cape Adare in January 1895. The Australians Edgeworth David and Douglas Mawson together with the Scottish doctor Alistair Mackay (1877-1914) reached as part of the Nimrod expedition led by Ernest Shackleton on January 16, 1909, the first to see the Antarctic magnetic pole at 72 ° 15 ′ S, 155 ° 16 ′ E in northeastern Victoria Land. Extensive geological and cartographic explorations in this region were also carried out during the Southern Cross Expedition (1898-1900), the Discovery Expedition (1901-1904) and the Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913).

Viktorialand is best known for the dry valleys , as the Antarctic oases are called here. They essentially consist of three valleys that used to be covered by glaciers . In the south is the Fryxellsee .
In the summer, the only major river in Antarctica, the Onyx, flows through the Wright Valley .

Individual evidence

  1. Victoria Land ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved January 4, 2007.
Coastline in Victoria Land

Coordinates: 71 ° 15 ′ 0 ″  S , 163 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  E