The island is named after Inuit Arctic explorer Hendrik Olsen, who was a member of Knud Rasmussen's Second Thule Expedition 1916–1917.

Hendrik Island is a large coastal island located east of Nyeboe Land, between Saint George Fjord to the west and Sherard Osborn Fjord to the east.

Its southern end faces the mouth of Hartz Sound, off the Warming Land Peninsula.

The island is largely unglaciated except for small glaciers.

It is mountainous, with a peak at its northern end reaching 1152 m. The sea around the island is rarely free from ice.