Victoria Island is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at 217,291 km2 (83,897 sq mi) in area, it is Canada's second-largest island. It is nearly double the size of Newfoundland (111,390 km2 [43,010 sq mi]), and is slightly larger than the island of Great Britain (209,331 km2 [80,823 sq mi]) but smaller than Honshu (225,800 km2 [87,200 sq mi]). The western third of the island lies in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories; the remainder is part of Nunavut's Kitikmeot Region. The population of 2,168 is divided among 2 settlements, the larger of which is in Nunavut and the other of which is in the Northwest Territories.
The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland and Iceland.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada.
The last voyage of the Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913–16, ended with the loss of the ship in the Arctic seas, and the subsequent deaths of nearly half her complement of 25. In August 1913, Karluk, a brigantine formerly used as a whaler, became trapped in the ice while sailing to a rendezvous point at Herschel Island. After a long drift across the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, in January 1914 the ship was crushed and sunk. In the ensuing months, the crew and expedition staff struggled to survive, first on the ice and later on the shores of Wrangel Island. In all, eleven men died before rescue. The Canadian Arctic Expedition was organised under the leadership of Canadian anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and had both scientific and geographic purposes. Shortly after Karluk was trapped, Stefansson and a small party left the ship, stating that they intended to hunt for caribou. However, the ice carried Karluk westwards, far from the hunting party who found it impossible to return to the ship. Stefansson reached land and then devoted himself to the expedition's scientific objectives, leaving the crew and staff on board the ship under the charge of its captain, Robert Bartlett. After the sinking, Bartlett organised a march across the ice to Wrangel Island, 80 miles (130 km) away. Conditions were difficult and dangerous; two four-man parties were lost before the island was reached.
Lougheed Island is one of the uninhabited members of the Queen Elizabeth Islands of the Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It measures 1,312 km2 (507 sq mi) in size. It is relatively isolated compared to other Canadian Arctic islands, and is located in the Arctic Ocean, halfway between Ellef Ringnes Island to the northeast and Melville Island to the southwest. It is part of the Findlay Group.
Meighen Island is an uninhabited member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, part of the Arctic Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada.
Brock Island is one of the uninhabited members of the Queen Elizabeth Islands of the Arctic Archipelago located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located at 77°51'N 114°27'W, it measures 764 km2 (295 sq mi) in size and lies close to Mackenzie King Island. The first known sighting of the island by a European was by Vilhjalmur Stefansson in 1915 and it was later named for Reginald W. Brock, Dean of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia.
Stefansson Island is an uninhabited island in the Arctic Archipelago in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It has a total area of 4,463 km2 (1,723 sq mi), making it the 128th largest island in the world, and Canada's 27th largest island. The island is located in Viscount Melville Sound, with M'Clintock Channel to the east. It lies just off Victoria Island's Storkerson Peninsula, separated by the Goldsmith Channel. Stefansson Island's highest mount is 256 m (840 ft). A weather station, at 73°45′56″N105°17′44″W, is located on the northern part of the island as part of an automated weather station array operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada in the Arctic. The first European sighting of the island was in 1917 by Storker T. Storkerson who was travelling with Canadian explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962), for whom the island was named.
Dolphin and Union Strait lies in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, between the mainland and Victoria Island. It is part of the Northwest Passage. It links Amundsen Gulf, lying to the northwest, with Coronation Gulf, lying to the southeast. The southeastern end of the strait is marked by Austin Bay. It gets its name from the two boats used by the Scottish naval surgeon and explorer John Richardson, who was the first known European to explore it in 1826.
King Christian Island is an uninhabited member of the Arctic Archipelago in the Sverdrup Islands, a part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It lies in the Arctic Ocean, 13.5 km (8.4 mi) from the southwestern coast of Ellef Ringnes Island, separated by the Danish Strait.
Copper Inuit, also known as Kitlinermiut and Inuinnait, are a Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line, in what is now the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories. Most of them historically lived in the area around Coronation Gulf, on Victoria Island, and southern Banks Island.
Ogden Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southern Queen Maud Gulf off Nunavut's mainland. Chester Bay is situated 32 km (20 mi) to the west, Armark is to the east, and the Keith Islands are to the north.
Kiillinnguyaq, formerly the Kent Peninsula, is a large Arctic peninsula, almost totally surrounded by water, in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. Were it not for a 8.0 km (5 mi) isthmus at the southeast corner it would be a long island parallel to the coast. From the isthmus it extends 169 km (105 mi) westward into the Coronation Gulf. To the south, Melville Sound separates it from the mainland. To the north is Dease Strait and then Victoria Island. To the west is Coronation Gulf and to the east, Queen Maud Gulf. Cape Flinders marks the western tip of the peninsula, Cape Franklin is at the northwestern point, and Hiiqtinniq, formerly Cape Alexander marks the northeastern point.
Albert Edward Bay is a bay on the southeast side of Victoria Island in the Arctic Archipelago. It faces Victoria Strait to the east. There are several islands in the bay, the largest of which is Admiralty Island at its mouth. Its north side is the Collinson Peninsula.
The Ekalluktogmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in Canada's Nunavut territory. They were located along the Ekalluk River near the center of Victoria Island, Albert Edward Bay in western Victoria Strait, and Denmark Bay. According to the Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the Ekalluktogmiut winter hunt on Dease Strait.
Haneragmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were the most westerly band of those that hunted in southern Victoria Island. They were generally located on the north shore of Dolphin and Union Strait, north of Cape Bexley, and south of Prince Albert Sound, on Victoria Island. Though they migrated seasonally both north and south for hunting, fishing, and trade, they were unaware that Victoria Island was an island.
Sutton Island is located in northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is situated in the Dolphin and Union Strait immediately next to Liston Island. Rymer Point and Simpson Bay, on Victoria Island's Wollaston Peninsula are to the northeast. Bernard Harbour, on the mainland, is to the southwest, as is Chantrey Island.
The Ugyuligmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit band in the Canadian Arctic's Northwest Territories. They were located on Victoria Island north of Minto Inlet, and on Banks Island in the Aulavik National Park region.
Tahiryuaq, formerly Tahiryuak Lake, is a lake located in the Canadian Arctic's Northwest Territories. It is situated in northcentral Victoria Island, north of Prince Albert Sound, southeast of Minto Inlet.
The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–1916 was a scientific expedition in the Arctic Circle organized and led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The expedition was originally to be sponsored by the (US) National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. Canada took over the sponsorship because of the potential for discovery of new land and Stefansson, who though born in Canada was now an American, re-established his Canadian citizenship. The expedition was divided into a Northern Party led by Stefansson, and a Southern Party led by R M. Anderson.
