Many names in Dronning Maud Land come from Norse mythology, and none more so than the Fenriskjeften region of the Drygalski Mountains. This area is named “the mouth of the wolf Fenris,” after the demonic wolf son of the god Loki. Looking at the topography, it is easy to see why; from the air the seven peaks in this range resemble a wolf’s jaws. The peaks surrounding the ice plateau Fenristunga, or “wolf’s tongue,” include Ulvetanna (“Wolf’s tooth”), Kintanna (“Wolf’s molar”), and Holtanna (“Hollow tooth”), and Mundlauga (“Mouth”).
The glacier adjacent to this mountain range is also named after Norse myths; Sigyn Glacier is named for Loki’s wife, and this area is called the Fimbulheimen, named after the great winter (“Fimbulvinter”) which marked the start of Ragnarok. At Ragnarok, the Norse version of the end of the world, the monstrous Fenris devours the sun and the moon and kills Odin, king of the gods, before being finally defeated by Vioarr, the Norse god of vengeance.
If you would like to learn more about place names in Antarctica, please see the SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) here https://www.scar.org/data-products/place-names/
