Arctic Archipelago

Wikipedia

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[1] km2 (543,540 sq mi)
Administration
Canada
Territories and provinceNunavut
Northwest Territories
Yukon
Newfoundland and Labrador
Largest settlementIqaluit, Nunavut (pop. 7,429[2])
Demographics
Population23,073 (2021[2][3])
Pop. density0.0098/km2 (0.0254/sq mi)

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).

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.[4] The archipelago is showing some effects of climate change,[5][6] with some computer estimates determining that melting there will contribute 3.5 cm (1.4 in) to the rise in sea levels by 2100.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9][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.[10][11][12]

Geography

Satellite image of Baffin Island, the largest island by total area of the Arctic Archipelago

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).[13]

The islands of the Canadian Arctic over 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi), in order of descending area, are:[1] As of 2021 the total population of all islands in the Arctic was 23,073.[2][3]

Name
(group)
LocationArea[1]Area rankPop
(2021[2][3])
NotesCoordinates
km2sqmiWorldCanada
Baffin IslandNunavut507,451 195,9285113,039Population does not include Kinngait and Qikiqtarjuaq. Both lie on small islands just off the coast of Baffin Island68°N 70°W / 68°N 70°W / 68; -70 (Baffin Island)[14]
Victoria IslandNorthwest Territories,
Nunavut
217,291 83,897822,168Contains the world's largest island within an island within an island[15]70°25′N 107°45′W / 70.417°N 107.750°W / 70.417; -107.750 (Victoria Island)[16]
Ellesmere Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut196,236 75,767103144Population includes Grise Fiord, Alert (Canada’s two most northerly communities) and Eureka[17]79°50′N 78°00′W / 79.833°N 78.000°W / 79.833; -78.000 (Ellesmere Island)[18]
Banks IslandNorthwest Territories70,028 27,038245104The 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[19][20]72°45′02″N 121°30′10″W / 72.75056°N 121.50278°W / 72.75056; -121.50278 (Banks Island)[21]
Devon Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut55,247 21,3312760The largest uninhabited island on Earth[22]75°15′N 088°00′W / 75.250°N 88.000°W / 75.250; -88.000 (Devon Island)[23]
Axel Heiberg Island
(Sverdrup Islands,
Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut43,178 16,6713270Known for its unusual fossil forests, which date from the Eocene period[24]79°45′N 091°00′W / 79.750°N 91.000°W / 79.750; -91.000 (Axel Heiberg Island)[25]
Melville Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
42,149 16,2743380The most northerly report of a grizzly bear sighting occurred here in 2003[26]75°30′02″N 111°30′09″W / 75.50056°N 111.50250°W / 75.50056; -111.50250 (Melville Island)[27]
Southampton IslandNunavut41,214 15,9133491,038One of the few Canadian areas, and the only area in Nunavut, that does not use daylight saving time[28]64°20′N 084°40′W / 64.333°N 84.667°W / 64.333; -84.667 (Southampton Island)[29]
Prince of Wales IslandNunavut33,339 12,87240100North of North is set in the fictional town of Ice Cove, which is situated here[30]72°40′N 99°00′W / 72.667°N 99.000°W / 72.667; -99.000 (Prince of Wales Island)[31]
Somerset IslandNunavut24,786 9,57046120Home of Fort Ross (1937-1948), the last trading post established by the Hudson's Bay Company[32]73°15′N 93°30′W / 73.250°N 93.500°W / 73.250; -93.500 (Somerset Island)[33]
Bathurst Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut16,042 6,19454130Home of Brooman Point Village, Qausuittuq National Park, and the Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area[34][35][36]75°45′N 100°00′W / 75.750°N 100.000°W / 75.750; -100.000 (Bathurst Island)[37]
Prince Patrick Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
15,848 6,11955140Mould Bay Weather Station, part of the Joint Arctic Weather Station system between Canada and the United States opened in 1948[38]76°45′02″N 119°30′12″W / 76.75056°N 119.50333°W / 76.75056; -119.50333 (Prince Patrick Island)[39]
King William IslandNunavut13,111 5,06261151,349Sir John Franklin’s two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, were found in what is now the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site[40]69°10′N 97°25′W / 69.167°N 97.417°W / 69.167; -97.417 (King William Island)[41]
Ellef Ringnes Island
(Sverdrup Islands,
Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut11,295 4,36168160Isachsen, opened in 1948, formerly staffed weather station, but now an Automated Surface Observing System[38]78°30′N 102°15′W / 78.500°N 102.250°W / 78.500; -102.250 (Ellef Ringnes Island)[42]
Bylot IslandNunavut11,067 4,27371170Sirmilik National Park is located on the island[43]73°13′N 78°34′W / 73.217°N 78.567°W / 73.217; -78.567 (Bylot Island)[44]
Prince Charles IslandNunavut9,521 3,67677190Uninhabited, however Inuit visited the island to hunt caribou[45]67°47′N 76°12′W / 67.783°N 76.200°W / 67.783; -76.200 (Prince Charles Island)[46]
Cornwallis Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut6,995 2,7019721183Resolute, the only community, was established in 1953 by forced migration know as the High Arctic relocation[47]75°08′N 95°00′W / 75.133°N 95.000°W / 75.133; -95.000 (Cornwallis Island)[48]
Coats IslandNunavut5,498 2,123107240The last home of the Sadlermiut[49]62°30′N 083°00′W / 62.500°N 83.000°W / 62.500; -83.000 (Coats Island)[50]
Amund Ringnes Island
(Sverdrup Islands
Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Nunavut5,255 2,02911125078°20′N 96°25′W / 78.333°N 96.417°W / 78.333; -96.417 (Amund Ringnes Island)[51]
Mackenzie King Island
(Queen Elizabeth Islands)
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut
5,048 1,94911626078°02′N 109°50′W / 78.033°N 109.833°W / 78.033; -109.833 (Mackenzie King Island)[52]

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.

Reference map of Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Reference map of Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Islands not on map

Notes

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

Communities

Iqaluit
Community Island Region, territory Population[2][3]
Arctic BayBaffin IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU944
Clyde RiverBaffin IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU1,181
IqaluitBaffin IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU7,429
KimmirutBaffin IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU426
PangnirtungBaffin IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU1,504
Pond InletBaffin IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU1,555
Sachs HarbourBanks IslandInuvik, NT104
QikiqtarjuaqBroughton IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU593
ResoluteCornwallis IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU183
KinngaitDorset IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU1,396
Grise FiordEllesmere IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU144
SanikiluaqFlaherty IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU1,010
IgloolikIgloolik IslandQikiqtaaluk, NU2,049
Gjoa HavenKing William IslandKitikmeot, NU1,349
Coral HarbourSouthampton IslandKivalliq, NU1,038
Cambridge BayVictoria IslandKitikmeot, NU1,760
UlukhaktokVictoria IslandInuvik, NT408
Total23,073

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.[2] 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.[2][3]

Island Population[2][3] Area[1][53][54]
(km2)
Area
(sq mi)
Density
(km2)
Density
(sq mi)
Baffin Island13,039507,451315,3150.0260.067
Banks Island10470,02843,5130.0010.004
Broughton Island593127.679.34.64712.037
Cornwallis Island1836,9954,3460.0260.068
Dorset Island1,396218174.50067.375
Ellesmere Island144196,236121,9350.0010.002
Flaherty Island1,0101,5859850.6371.650
Igloolik Island2,049114.571.117.89546.348
King William Island1,34913,1118,1470.1030.266
Southampton Island1,03841,21425,6090.1030.266
Victoria Island2,168217,291135,0180.0100.026

Mapping

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Atlas of Canada – Sea Islands". Atlas.nrcan.gc.ca. 12 August 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Nunavut". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Northwest Territories". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. Marsh, James H., ed. 1988. "Arctic Archipelago" The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Hurtig Publishers.
  5. Thinning of the Arctic Sea-Ice Cover
  6. Arctic sea ice decline: Faster than forecast
  7. Wayman, Erin. "Canada's ice shrinking rapidly". Science News.
  8. "Canada". World Statesmen. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  9. "Northwest Passage gets political name change". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016 via Canada.com.
  10. Levin, Dan (7 November 2016). "Canada and Denmark Fight Over Island With Whisky and Schnapps". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  11. Bender, Jeremy. "2 countries have been fighting over an uninhabited island by leaving each other bottles of alcohol for over 3 decades". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  12. Hopper, Tristin (13 June 2022). "Canada to get new land border with Denmark as decades-long Hans Island dispute ends". National Post. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  13. "Arctic Archipelago". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  14. "Baffin Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  15. Wolchover, Natalie (24 January 2012). "World's Largest Island-in-a-lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake-on-an-island Seen on Google Earth". LiveScience. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  16. "Victoria Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  17. Struzik, Edward. "Alert". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  18. "Ellesmere Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  19. "Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 1". Environment and Climate Change Canada. 3 June 2022.
  20. "Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 2". Environment and Climate Change Canada. 14 November 2019.
  21. "Banks Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  22. "Mars Researchers Rendezvous on Remote Arctic Island". Langley Research Center, Atmospheric Science Data Center, NASA. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  23. "Devon Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  24. "The Fossilized Forest Of Axel Heiberg Island". The University of British Columbia. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  25. "Axel Heiberg Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  26. Doupé, Jonathan P.; England, John H.; Furze, M.; Paetkau, David (2007). "Most Northerly Observation of a Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) in Canada: Photographic and DNA Evidence from Melville Island, Northwest Territories". Arctic. 60 (3): 271–276. doi:10.14430/arctic219.
  27. "Melville Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  28. "Current Local Time in Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada". timeanddate.com. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  29. "Southampton Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  30. Pelletier, Jeff (10 April 2025). "A 'North of North' Ice Cove location guide". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  31. "Prince of Wales Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  32. "Northwest Passage: The National visits Canada's North". CBC News. 27 October 2006. Archived from the original on 3 November 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  33. "Somerset Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  34. McGhee, Robert. Brooman Point Village. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  35. "Qausuittuq National Park". Parks Canada. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  36. "Polar Bear Pass (Nanuit Itillinga) National Wildlife Area". Environment and Climate Change Canada. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  37. "Bathurst Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  38. 1 2 "Mould Bay Weather Station". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  39. "Prince Patrick Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  40. "Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site". Parks Canada. 6 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  41. "King William Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  42. "Ellef Ringnes Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  43. "Sirmilik National Park". Parks Canada. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  44. "Bylot Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  45. Martini, I. P.; Wanless, H. R. (24 October 2014). Sedimentary Coastal Zones from High to Low Latitudes: Similarities and Differences. Geological Society of London. ISBN 9781862393745 via Google Books.
  46. "Prince Charles Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  47. "Arctic Exile Monument Project". Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  48. "Cornwallis Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  49. "In the bones of the world (Part eight)". Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit). Nunatsiaq News. 26 July 2002. Archived from the original on 28 March 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2005.
  50. "Coats Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  51. "Amund Ringnes Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  52. "Mackenzie King Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  53. "Islands By Land Area". Islands.unep.ch. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  54. "Sector13.Hudson Strait" (PDF). National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. pollux.nss.nima.mil. pp. 14–15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  55. "Broughton Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  56. "Cape Chidley Islands". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  57. "Dorset Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  58. "Flaherty Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  59. "Igloolik Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.

Further reading

  • Aiken, S.G., M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, et al. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval[CD]. Ottawa: NRC Research Press; Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature, 2007. ISBN 978-0-660-19727-2.
  • Aiken, S. G., Laurie Lynn Consaul, and M. J. Dallwitz. Grasses of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Ottawa: Research Division, Canadian Museum of Nature, 1995.
  • Balkwill, H.R.; Embry, Ashton F. (1982). Arctic Geology and Geophysics: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Arctic Geology (Hardcover). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. ISBN 0-920230-19-9.
  • Bouchard, Giselle. Freshwater Diatom Biogeography of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada, 2005. ISBN 0-494-01424-5
  • Brown, Roger James Evan. Permafrost in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. National Research Council of Canada, Division of Building Research, 1972.
  • Cota GF, LW Cooper, DA Darby, and IL Larsen. 2006. "Unexpectedly High Radioactivity Burdens in Ice-Rafted Sediments from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago". The Science of the Total Environment. 366, no. 1: 253–61.
  • Dunphy, Michael. Validation of a modelling system for tides in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Canadian technical report of hydrography and ocean sciences, 243. Dartmouth, N.S.: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2005.
  • Glass, Donald J.; Embry, Ashton F.; McMillan, N. J. (26 February 1988). Devonian of the World: Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on the Devonian System (Hardcover). Calgary, Canada: Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. ISBN 0-920230-47-4.
  • Hamilton, Paul B., Konrad Gajewski, David E. Atkinson, and David R.S. Lean. 2001. "Physical and Chemical Limnology of 204 Lakes from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago". Hydrobiologia. 457, no. 1/3: 133–148.
  • Mi︠a︡rss, Tiĭu, Mark V. H. Wilson, and R. Thorsteinsson. Silurian and Lower Devonian Thelodonts and Putative Chondrichthyans from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Special papers in palaeontology, no. 75. London: Palaeontological Association, 2006. ISBN 0-901702-99-4
  • Michel, C Ingram, R G, and L R Harris. 2006. "Variability in Oceanographic and Ecological Processes in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago". Progress in Oceanography. 71, no. 2: 379.
  • Porsild, A.E. The Vascular Plants of the Western Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Ottawa: E. Cloutier, Queen's printer, 1955.
  • Rae, R. W. Climate of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Toronto: Canada Dept. of Transport, 1951.
  • Thorsteinsson, R., and Ulrich Mayr. The Sedimentary Rocks of Devon Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Ottawa, Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, 1987. ISBN 0-660-12319-3
  • Van der Baaren, Augustine, and S. J. Prinsenberg. Geostrophic transport estimates from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Dartmouth, N.S.: Ocean Sciences Division, Maritimes Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 2002.