Sverdrup Islands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From left to right: Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, and Axel Heiberg islands
The Sverdrup Islands are an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands lie west of Ellesmere Island at around 82° north and 95° west. The main islands of the group are Axel Heiberg Island, Amund Ringnes Island, and Ellef Ringnes Island, and the archipelago also includes a number of smaller islands in the surrounding waters, including King Christian Island, Haig-Thomas Island, and Cornwall Island.
The group is named after Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vessel Fram, although some were previously inhabited by Inuit people. After the Fram expedition, Norway claimed the islands as theirs; they did not relinquish their claim until 1930. The only habitation is on Ellef Ringnes Island.
[edit] External links
 |
This Nunavut geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
