Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut

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Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada
Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada
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

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.