Sabine Island
| Native name: Sabine Ø | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | East-Greenland |
| Coordinates | 74°36′N 18°59′W / 74.600°N 18.983°WCoordinates: 74°36′N 18°59′W / 74.600°N 18.983°W |
| Country | |
|
Greenland | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Sabine Island is an island to the northeast of Wollaston Foreland, previously known as Inner Pendulum Island. It was named by the Second German North Polar Expedition 1869–70 under Karl Koldewey as Sabine Insel for the geophysicist, General Sir Edward Sabine, who carried out pendulum gravimetric experiments on the island in 1823.[1]
Sabine was aboard the Clavering expedition, the only one to encounter living Inuit (Eskimos) in Northeast Greenland. Koldewey's expedition built a house at Germaniahafen on the south side. This station was later used by hunting expeditions.
From August 1942 to June 1943, a German meteorological expedition under the command of Captain Hermann Ritter, with headquarters in Hansa Bay on the eastern side of the island, operated successfully on Sabine. It was discovered in March by the North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol, established by Greenland governor Eske Brun. In May the station was bombed by U.S. aircraft from Iceland led by Colonel Bernt Balchen. In June the surviving members of the German team were evacuated to Norway by air.
Sabine Island is 16 km long from Kap Neumayer in the north to Teddy Udkig in the south, and 14 km wide. The area measures 155.9 km², and the shoreline 59.8 km. The highest elevation is 699 meters. Numerous huts remain on the island.
There is also a small Sabine Island in Melville Bay, Northwest Greenland, as Mr. Sabine was also on the 1818 Ross expedition to these parts. That exposed islet was the site of a U.S. LORAN station in the post-war era.