Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut. |
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Northern Canada |
| Archipelago | Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
| Area | 33,339 km2 (12,872.3 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 40th |
| Highest elevation | 320 m (1,050 ft) |
| Country | |
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Canada
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| Territory | Nunavut |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
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 (12,872 sq mi). Prince of Wales Island is the world's 40th largest island and the 10th largest in Canada. Its highest known point, found at – and 320 m (1,050 ft) – 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.[2] McClintock, along with Sherard Osborn and William Browne, charted the northern half of the island. Its southern half was charted by Allen Young in 1859.[3]
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