The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP). The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from Mainland Canada by a series of Arctic waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passages or Northwestern Passages.
The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland.
The Queen Elizabeth Islands are the northernmost cluster of islands in Canada's Arctic Archipelago, split between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories in Northern Canada. The Queen Elizabeth Islands contain approximately 14% of the global glacier and ice cap area.
Cornwallis Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, part of the Arctic Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. It lies to the west of Devon Island and at its greatest length is about 113 km (70 mi). At 6,995 km2 (2,701 sq mi) in size, it is the 96th largest island in the world, and Canada's 21st largest island. Cornwallis Island is separated by the Wellington Channel from Devon Island, and by the Parry Channel from Somerset Island to the south. Northwest of Cornwallis Island lies Little Cornwallis Island, the biggest of a group of small islands at the north end of McDougall Sound, which separates Cornwallis Island from nearby Bathurst Island.
Prince Regent Inlet is a body of water in Nunavut, Canada between the west end of Baffin Island and Somerset Island on the west. It opens north into Lancaster Sound and to the south merges into the Gulf of Boothia. The Arctic inlet's northern portion is approximately 40 mi (64 km) wide; the southern portion is approximately 65 mi (105 km) wide. It is deep throughout and there are no islands within the inlet.
Prince Leopold Island is an island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Lancaster Sound at the junction of Prince Regent Inlet and Barrow Strait. Somerset Island is situated 13 km (8.1 mi) to the southwest; Port Leopold, an abandoned trading post, is the closest landmark. The island is significant as a summer habitat and breeding ground for large populations of several arctic bird species.
Lowther Island lies within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is one of the mid-channel islands in the western sector of Barrow Strait. Bathurst Island and Cornwallis Island are to the north, while Prince of Wales Island is to the south. The island is clustered within a group of uninhabited islands. It is 15.5 mi (24.9 km) northeast of Young Island, separated by the Kettle Passage, a shipping route, and 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Garrett Island, separated by Hayes Channel.
Griffith Island lies within the Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is one of the mid-channel islands in the western sector of Barrow Strait.
McDougall Sound is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between southeastern Bathurst Island and western Cornwallis island. The sound's southern mouth opens to the Parry Channel, and beyond that, to the Barrow Strait. The sound's northern mouth opens to Crozier Strait. The sound is populated by several smaller islands, the named ones including Milne Island, Little Cornwallis Island, Wood Island, Neal Islands, Truro Island, and Baker Island.
Crozier Strait is a natural waterway in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It separates Bathurst Island's Gregory Peninsula to the west from Milne Island and Little Cornwallis Island to the east. The strait, an arm of the Arctic Ocean, connects Queens Channel to the north with the McDougall Sound to the south. Kalvik Island is located within the strait, as is Karluk Island, an archaeological site.
The Parry Channel is a natural waterway through the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its eastern two-thirds lies in the territory of Nunavut, while its western third lies in the Northwest Territories. It runs east to west, connecting Baffin Bay in the east with the Beaufort Sea in the west. Its eastern end is the only practical entrance to the Northwest Passage. Its western end would be a natural exit from the archipelago were it not filled with ice. The channel separates the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the north from the rest of Nunavut.
Burnett Inlet is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the southern coast of Devon Island. Like Stratton Inlet, Hobhouse Inlet, Powell Inlet, and Cuming Inlet, Burnett Inlet is situated between Maxwell Bay and Croker Bay, in the eastern high Arctic, north of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait.
Powell Inlet is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the southern coast of Devon Island in the eastern high Arctic. Like Stratton Inlet, Burnett Inlet, Hobhouse Inlet, and Cuming Inlet, Powell Inlet is situated between Maxwell Bay and Croker Bay, north of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait.
Croker Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the southern coast of Devon Island in the eastern high Arctic. Like Maxwell Bay to the west, it is an arm of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait.
Maxwell Bay is a waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the southern coast of Devon Island in the eastern high Arctic. Like Croker Bay to the east, it is an arm of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait.
Radstock Bay is a waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the southern coast of Devon Island in the eastern high Arctic. Like Maxwell Bay to the east, it is an arm of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait.
This timeline of European exploration lists major geographic discoveries and other firsts credited to or involving Europeans during the Age of Discovery and the following centuries, between the years AD 1418 and 2021.
Vice-Admiral William John Samuel Pullen was a Royal Navy officer who was the first European to sail along the north coast of Alaska from the Bering Strait to the Mackenzie River in Canada. His 1849 journey was one of the many unsuccessful expeditions to rescue Sir John Franklin and explore the Northwest Passage.
The Canadian Arctic Rift System is a major North American geological structure extending from the Labrador Sea in the southeast through Davis Strait, Baffin Bay and the Arctic Archipelago in the northwest. It consists of a series of interconnected rifts that formed during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Extensional stresses along the entire length of the rift system have resulted in a variety of tectonic features, including grabens, half-grabens, basins and faults.
Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area is an approved National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The goal of the marine conservation area is to work with local Inuit to conserve the rich biodiversity of Lancaster Sound and its adjacent waterways. Once formally established under the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, it will become the largest Parks Canada-managed protected area and the second largest protected area in Canada after Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area.
