[1][2] Robert Peary named the territory, together with Heilprin Land, in 1892 during his North Greenland Expedition sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

He drew a rough map based on the panorama that he saw from Navy Cliff, at the head of Independence Fjord, but did not explore the area.

[5]The territory was finally mapped with accuracy by Lauge Koch from a height of 2,438 metres (7,999 ft) during his cartographic air expedition of 1938.

To the west it is limited by the Bronlund Fjord, and to the east by Kjovesletten, a small coastal area beyond which lies Herlufsholm Strand.

The part along the shore of Independence Fjord has high sandstone cliffs with elevations averaging 460 metres (1,509 ft), including the Pyramide Plateau in the western sector.