Queen Maud Land

Queen Maud Land (). The Norwegian name, Dronning Maud Land, is also used by English speakers. It is derived from a 1974 agreement between Norway and the United Kingdom not to translate the names of each other's claims. Similar agreements, although informal, also exist with Australia, New Zealand and France.}} is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addition, a small unclaimed area from 1939 was annexed in June 2015. Positioned in East Antarctica, it makes out about one-fifth of the continent, and is named after the Norwegian Queen Maud (1869–1938).

In 1930, the Norwegian Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen was the first person known to have set foot in the territory. On 14 January 1939, the territory was claimed by Norway. 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 administered by the Polar Affairs Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Oslo.

Most of the territory is covered by the east Antarctic ice sheet, and a tall ice wall stretches throughout its coast. In some areas farther within the ice sheet, mountain ranges breach through the ice, allowing for birds to breed and the growth of a limited flora. The region is divided into, from west to east, the Princess Martha Coast, Princess Astrid Coast, Princess Ragnhild Coast, Prince Harald Coast and Prince Olav Coast:

{| class="wikitable" ! No. ! Coast ! Western border ! Eastern border ! Width in
degrees |- | 1 | Princess Martha Coast | align=right | 20° 00′ W | align=right | 05° 00′ E | align=right | 25° 00′ |- | 2 | Princess Astrid Coast | align=right | 05° 00′ E | align=right | 20° 00′ E | align=right | 15° 00′ |- | 3 | Princess Ragnhild Coast | align=right | 20° 00′ E | align=right | 34° 00′ E | align=right | 14° 00′ |- | 4 | Prince Harald Coast | align=right | 34° 00′ E | align=right | 40° 00′ E | align=right | 06° 00′ |- | 5 | Prince Olav Coast | align=right | 40° 00′ E | align=right | 44° 38′ E | align=right | 04° 38′ |- style="background: #dddddd;" |   | Queen Maud Land | align=right | 20° 00′ W | align=right | 44° 38′ E | align=right | 64° 38′ |}

The waters off the coast are called the King Haakon VII Sea.

There is no permanent population, although there are 12 active research stations housing a maximum of around 40 scientists, the numbers fluctuating depending on the season. Six are occupied year-round, while the remainder are seasonal summer stations. The main aerodromes for intercontinental flights, corresponding with Cape Town, South Africa, are Troll Airfield, near the Norwegian Troll research station, and a runway at the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station. Provided by Wikipedia