Prince of Wales Island (Nunavut)

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Prince of Wales Island
Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut.
Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut.
Geography
Location Northern Canada
Coordinates 72°36′01″N 98°32′08″W / 72.60028, -98.53556Coordinates: 72°36′01″N 98°32′08″W / 72.60028, -98.53556
Archipelago Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Area 33 339 km²
Highest point 73°49'N; 97°50'W
320 m
Administration
Flag of Canada Canada
Territory Flag of Nunavut Nunavut
Largest city Iqaluit (6,184)
Demographics
Population Uninhabited
Indigenous people Inuit
Closeup of Prince of Wales Island
Closeup of Prince of Wales Island
Satellite photo montage of Prince of Wales Island and its neighbours
Satellite photo montage of Prince of Wales Island and its neighbours

One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Prince of Wales Island is an Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada, lying between Victoria Island and Somerset Island and south of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

For administrative purposes it is divided between Qikiqtaaluk and Kitikmeot regions. There are no permanent settlements.

It is a low tundra-covered island with an irregular coastline deeply indented by Ommanney Bay in the west and Browne Bay in the east. Its area has been estimated at 33 339 km². Prince of Wales Island is the world's 40th largest island and the 10th largest in Canada. Its highest known point, found at 73°49'N; 97°50'W – and 320 m high – is an unnamed spot in the island's far northeastern end [1] overlooking the Baring Channel, which separates the island from nearby Russell Island.

Its European discovery came in 1851 by Francis Leopold McClintock's sledge parties during the searches for John Franklin's last expedition.

[edit] Further reading

  • Blackadar, Robert Gordon. Precambrian Geology of Boothia Peninsula, Somerset Island, and Prince of Wales Island, District of Franklin. [Ottawa]: Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1967.
  • Christie, Robert Loring. Stratigraphic Sections of Palaeozoic Rocks on Prince of Wales and Somerset Island, District of Franklin, Northwest Territories. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1967.
  • Dyke, Arthur S. Quaternary Geology of Prince of Wales Island, Arctic Canada. [Ottawa, Canada]: Geological Survey of Canada, 1992. ISBN 0660144085
  • Mayr, Ulrich. Geology of eastern Prince of Wales Island and adjacent smaller islands, Nunavut (parts of NTS 68D, Baring Channel and 68A, Fisher Lake). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 2004. ISBN 066018804X
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