Sverdrup Islands

Sverdrup Islands

NASA Landsat photo of the Sverdrup Islands
From left to right: Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, and Axel Heiberg islands.
Geography
Location Arctic Ocean
Coordinates 78°30′N 95°00′W / 78.500°N 95.000°W / 78.500; -95.000 (Sverdrup Islands)Coordinates: 78°30′N 95°00′W / 78.500°N 95.000°W / 78.500; -95.000 (Sverdrup Islands)
Archipelago Queen Elizabeth Islands
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Major islands Axel Heiberg, Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes
Area 66,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi)
Highest elevation 2,210 m (7,250 ft)
Highest point Outlook Peak
Administration
Canada
Territory Nunavut
Region Qikiqtaaluk
Capital city McGill Arctic Research Station
Demographics
Population 8 to 12 summer population
Pop. density 0.000015 /km2 (3.9E-5 /sq mi)

The Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island from 77° to 81° North and 85° to 106° West.

History

The islands are 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. Sverdrup claimed the islands for Norway, but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928. At that point, the Norwegian government raised the claim, primarily to use the islands as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United Kingdom over the status of two other islands: the Arctic Jan Mayen and the Antarctic Bouvet Island. On 11 November 1930, Norway recognized Canadian sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands.[1] On 19 November 1930, the UK recognized Norwegian sovereignty over Jan Mayen.[2]

Geography

The main islands of the group are Axel Heiberg Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Amund Ringnes Island, Cornwall Island, Graham Island, Meighen Island, King Christian Island, Stor Island, and the archipelago also includes a number of smaller islands in the surrounding waters. The only habitated place was Isachsen, a formerly manned weather station, 1948 through 1978, on Ellef Ringnes Island and McGill Arctic Research Station on Axel Heiberg Island (a research station occupied during the summer).

Main Islands

Island Peak Height
m		 Area
km² 		Rank
Canada 		Rank
World
Axel HeibergOutlook Peak2,21143,178732
Ellef RingnesIsachsen Dome26011,295 1669
Amund Ringnes...2655,255 25111
MeighenMeighen Icecap300955 50337
King ChristianKing Christian Mountain165645 60420
Stor...500313 87...
SverdrupOutlook Peak2,21166,000 - -

See also

References

  1. ↑ Berton, Pierre. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole. Toronto: Random House of Canada Ltd., 1988, p. 629.
  2. ↑ "Norsk polarhelt ville bli hemmelig agent" from aftenposten.no, 19 April 2007, in Norwegian
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