Oscar II Coast
The Oscar II Coast is that portion of the east coast of Graham Land which lies between Cape Fairweather and Cape Alexander.
The coast was discovered in 1893 by Carl Anton Larsen, the founder of South Georgia's industry and a tireless Antarctic explorer. Larsen, a Norwegian (though later naturalised as a British subject) named it 'Kong Oscar II Land' for King Oscar II, then King of Norway and Sweden.
The coast was roughly charted by Larsen in December 1893. (At the same time he applied the name Moderlandet ('the mother land') to part of the coast lying west of the Jason Peninsula.)
Varous forms of the name chosen by Larsen have appeared on charts since that time (including 'King Oscar II's Land', 'Kong Oscar den 2dens Land', 'Kong Oskars Land', 'König Oskar II. Land' (Friederichsen, 1895), Terra del Re Oscar II, and in 1905 a German chart has 'König Oscar Küste' extending south from the Sjögren Glacier, while a 1921 chart has 'King Oscar II Coast' apparently referring to whole of Graham Land around 66°S. The coast was finally defined within its current limits by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place Names Committee in about 1955.
Location
- Location map: 65°45’0"S, 62°30’0"W
| Coasts of the British Antarctic Territory | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity Peninsula |
Graham Land: Nordenskjöld • Oscar II • Foyn • Bowman • Palmer Land: Wilkins • Black • Lassiter • Orville • Zumberge |
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Graham Land: Davis • Danco • Graham • Loubet • Fallières • Palmer Land: Rymill • English |
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