Arctic Archipelago

The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, which is, by itself, much larger than the combined area of the archipelago), and Iceland (an independent country).

Arctic Archipelago
Archipel arctique canadien (Canadian French)
Polar projection map of the Arctic Archipelago
Geography
LocationNorthern Canada
Coordinates75°N 90°W / 75°N 90°W / 75; -90 (Arctic Archipelago)
Total islands36,563
Major islandsBaffin Island, Victoria Island, Ellesmere Island
Area1,407,770 km2 (543,540 sq mi)
Administration
Canada
Territories and provinceNunavut
Northwest Territories
Yukon
Newfoundland and Labrador
Largest settlementIqaluit, Nunavut (pop. 7,429)
Demographics
Population23,073 (2021)
Pop. density0.0098/km2 (0.0254/sq mi)

Situated in the northern extremity of North America and covering about 1,424,500 km2 (550,000 sq mi), this group of 36,563 islands, surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, comprises much of Northern Canada, predominately Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The archipelago is showing some effects of climate change, with some computer estimates determining that melting there will contribute 3.5 cm (1.4 in) to the rise in sea levels by 2100.

History

Around 2500 BCE, the first humans, the Paleo-Eskimos, arrived in the archipelago from the Canadian mainland. Between 1000 and 1500 CE, they were replaced by the Thule people, who are the ancestors of today's Inuit.

British claims on the islands, the British Arctic Territories, were based on the explorations in the 1570s by Martin Frobisher. Canadian sovereignty was originally (1870–80) only over island portions that drained into Foxe Basin, Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait. Canadian sovereignty over the islands was established by 1880 when Britain transferred them to Canada. The District of Franklin—established in 1895—comprised almost all of the archipelago. The district was dissolved upon the creation of Nunavut in 1999. Canada claims all the waterways of the Northwest Passage as Canadian Internal Waters; however, most maritime countries view these as international waters.[failed verification] Disagreement over the passages' status has raised Canadian concerns about environmental enforcement, national security, and general sovereignty. East of Ellesmere Island, in the Nares Strait, lies Hans Island, ownership of which is now shared between Canada and Denmark, after a decades-long dispute.

Geography

The archipelago extends some 2,400 km (1,500 mi) longitudinally and 1,900 km (1,200 mi) from the mainland to Cape Columbia, the northernmost point on Ellesmere Island. It is bounded on the west by the Beaufort Sea; on the northwest by the Arctic Ocean; on the east by Greenland, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait; and on the south by Hudson Bay and the Canadian mainland. The various islands are separated from each other and the continental mainland by a series of waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passage. Two large peninsulas, Boothia and Melville, extend northward from the mainland. The northernmost cluster of islands, including Ellesmere Island, is known as the Queen Elizabeth Islands and was formerly the Parry Islands.

The archipelago consists of 36,563 islands, of which 94 are classified as major islands, being larger than 130 km2 (50 sq mi), and cover a total area of 1,400,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi).

The islands of the Canadian Arctic over 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi), in order of descending area, are: As of 2021 the total population of all islands in the Arctic was 23,073.

Name
(group)
Location Area Area rank Pop
(2021)
Notes Coordinates
km2 sqmi World Canada
Baffin Island Nunavut 507,451 195,928 5 1 13,039 Population does not include Kinngait and Qikiqtarjuaq. Both lie on small islands just off the coast of Baffin Island 68°N 70°W / 68°N 70°W / 68; -70 (Baffin Island)
Victoria Island Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
217,291 83,897 8 2 2,168 Contains the world's largest island within an island within an island 70°25′N 107°45′W / 70.417°N 107.750°W / 70.417; -107.750 (Victoria Island)
Ellesmere Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 196,236 75,767 10 3 144 Population includes Grise Fiord, Alert (Canada’s two most northerly communities) and Eureka 79°50′N 78°00′W / 79.833°N 78.000°W / 79.833; -78.000 (Ellesmere Island)
Banks Island Northwest Territories 70,028 27,038 24 5 104 The summer home to hundreds of thousands of migratory birds who nest at Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 1 and Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 2 72°45′02″N 121°30′10″W / 72.75056°N 121.50278°W / 72.75056; -121.50278 (Banks Island)
Devon Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 55,247 21,331 27 6 0 The largest uninhabited island on Earth 75°15′N 088°00′W / 75.250°N 88.000°W / 75.250; -88.000 (Devon Island)
Axel Heiberg Island
(Sverdrup Islands,
Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 43,178 16,671 32 7 0 Known for its unusual fossil forests, which date from the Eocene period 79°45′N 091°00′W / 79.750°N 91.000°W / 79.750; -91.000 (Axel Heiberg Island)
Melville Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
42,149 16,274 33 8 0 The most northerly report of a grizzly bear sighting occurred here in 2003 75°30′02″N 111°30′09″W / 75.50056°N 111.50250°W / 75.50056; -111.50250 (Melville Island)
Southampton Island Nunavut 41,214 15,913 34 9 1,038 One of the few Canadian areas, and the only area in Nunavut, that does not use daylight saving time 64°20′N 084°40′W / 64.333°N 84.667°W / 64.333; -84.667 (Southampton Island)
Prince of Wales Island Nunavut 33,339 12,872 40 10 0 North of North is set in the fictional town of Ice Cove, which is situated here 72°40′N 99°00′W / 72.667°N 99.000°W / 72.667; -99.000 (Prince of Wales Island)
Somerset Island Nunavut 24,786 9,570 46 12 0 Home of Fort Ross (1937-1948), the last trading post established by the Hudson's Bay Company 73°15′N 93°30′W / 73.250°N 93.500°W / 73.250; -93.500 (Somerset Island)
Bathurst Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 16,042 6,194 54 13 0 Home of Brooman Point Village, Qausuittuq National Park, and the Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area 75°45′N 100°00′W / 75.750°N 100.000°W / 75.750; -100.000 (Bathurst Island)
Prince Patrick Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
15,848 6,119 55 14 0 Mould Bay Weather Station, part of the Joint Arctic Weather Station system between Canada and the United States opened in 1948 76°45′02″N 119°30′12″W / 76.75056°N 119.50333°W / 76.75056; -119.50333 (Prince Patrick Island)
King William Island Nunavut 13,111 5,062 61 15 1,349 Sir John Franklin’s two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were found in what is now the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site 69°10′N 97°25′W / 69.167°N 97.417°W / 69.167; -97.417 (King William Island)
Ellef Ringnes Island
(Sverdrup Islands,
Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 11,295 4,361 68 16 0 Isachsen, opened in 1948, formerly staffed weather station, but now an Automated Surface Observing System 78°30′N 102°15′W / 78.500°N 102.250°W / 78.500; -102.250 (Ellef Ringnes Island)
Bylot Island Nunavut 11,067 4,273 71 17 0 Sirmilik National Park is located on the island 73°13′N 78°34′W / 73.217°N 78.567°W / 73.217; -78.567 (Bylot Island)
Prince Charles Island Nunavut 9,521 3,676 77 19 0 Uninhabited, however Inuit visited the island to hunt caribou 67°47′N 76°12′W / 67.783°N 76.200°W / 67.783; -76.200 (Prince Charles Island)
Cornwallis Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 6,995 2,701 97 21 183 Resolute, the only community, was established in 1953 by forced migration know as the High Arctic relocation 75°08′N 95°00′W / 75.133°N 95.000°W / 75.133; -95.000 (Cornwallis Island)
Coats Island Nunavut 5,498 2,123 107 24 0 The last home of the Sadlermiut 62°30′N 083°00′W / 62.500°N 83.000°W / 62.500; -83.000 (Coats Island)
Amund Ringnes Island
(Sverdrup Islands
Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut 5,255 2,029 111 25 0 78°20′N 96°25′W / 78.333°N 96.417°W / 78.333; -96.417 (Amund Ringnes Island)
Mackenzie King Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
5,048 1,949 116 26 0 78°02′N 109°50′W / 78.033°N 109.833°W / 78.033; -109.833 (Mackenzie King Island)


After Greenland, the archipelago is the world's largest high-Arctic land area. The climate of the islands is Arctic, and the terrain consists of tundra except in mountainous regions. Most of the islands are uninhabited; human settlement is extremely thin and scattered, being mainly coastal Inuit settlements on the southern islands.

Islands not on map

Notes

  • ^A Population: 183
  • ^B Formerly Jens Munk Island
  • ^C Formerly Vansittart Island
  • ^D Formerly White Island
  • ^E Formerly Big Island
  • ^F Population: 593
  • ^G Population: 1,396
  • ^H Population: 1,010
  • ^I Population: 2,049
  • ^J Formerly Jenny Lind Island
  • ^K Formerly Gateshead Island

Communities

Community Island Region, territory Population
Arctic Bay Baffin Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 944
Clyde River Baffin Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 1,181
Iqaluit Baffin Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 7,429
Kimmirut Baffin Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 426
Pangnirtung Baffin Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 1,504
Pond Inlet Baffin Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 1,555
Sachs Harbour Banks Island Inuvik, NT 104
Qikiqtarjuaq Broughton Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 593
Resolute Cornwallis Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 183
Kinngait Dorset Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 1,396
Grise Fiord Ellesmere Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 144
Sanikiluaq Flaherty Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 1,010
Igloolik Igloolik Island Qikiqtaaluk, NU 2,049
Gjoa Haven King William Island Kitikmeot, NU 1,349
Coral Harbour Southampton Island Kivalliq, NU 1,038
Cambridge Bay Victoria Island Kitikmeot, NU 1,760
Ulukhaktok Victoria Island Inuvik, NT 408
Total 23,073

Populated islands

Of the more than 36,000 islands, only 11 are populated. Baffin Island, the largest, also has the largest population of 13,309. The population accounts for 67.37 per cent of the 19,355 people in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, 56.51 per cent of the population of the Arctic Archipelago, and 35.38 per cent of the population of Nunavut.

Island Population Area
(km2)
Area
(sq mi)
Density
(km2)
Density
(sq mi)
Baffin Island 13,039 507,451 315,315 0.026 0.067
Banks Island 104 70,028 43,513 0.001 0.004
Broughton Island 593 127.6 79.3 4.647 12.037
Cornwallis Island 183 6,995 4,346 0.026 0.068
Dorset Island 1,396 21 8 174.500 67.375
Ellesmere Island 144 196,236 121,935 0.001 0.002
Flaherty Island 1,010 1,585 985 0.637 1.650
Igloolik Island 2,049 114.5 71.1 17.895 46.348
King William Island 1,349 13,111 8,147 0.103 0.266
Southampton Island 1,038 41,214 25,609 0.103 0.266
Victoria Island 2,168 217,291 135,018 0.010 0.026

Mapping

See also

wikipedia, wiki, encyclopedia, book, library, article, read, free download, Information about Arctic Archipelago, What is Arctic Archipelago? What does Arctic Archipelago mean?