The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. 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, Northwestern Passages or the Canadian Internal Waters.
Hans Island is an island in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland. The island itself is barren and uninhabited with an area of 130 hectares, measuring 1,290 by 1,199 metres, and a maximum elevation of 168.17 m (551.7 ft). Its location in the strait that separates Ellesmere Island of Canada from northern Greenland was for years a border dispute, the so-called Whisky War between the two countries of Canada and Denmark. Hans Island is the smallest of three islands in Kennedy Channel off the Washington Land coast; the others are Franklin Island and Crozier Island. The strait at this point is 35 km (22 mi) wide, placing the island within the territorial waters of both Canada and Denmark (Greenland). A 1,280-metre-long (4,200 ft) border traverses the island.
Baffin Bay, located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea. The narrower Nares Strait connects Baffin Bay with the Arctic Ocean. The bay is not navigable most of the year because of the ice cover and high density of floating ice and icebergs in the open areas. However, a polynya of about 80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi), known as the North Water, opens in summer on the north near Smith Sound. Most of the aquatic life of the bay is concentrated near that region.
Nares Strait is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that connects the northern part of Baffin Bay in the Atlantic Ocean with the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin and Robeson Channel. Nares Strait has a nearly permanent current from the north, powered by the Beaufort Gyre, making it harder to traverse for ships coming from the south.
Kane Basin is an Arctic waterway lying between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Smith Sound to Kennedy Channel and forms part of Nares Strait. It is approximately 180 kilometres in length and 130 km at its widest.
Hall Basin is an Arctic waterway between Hall Land in Greenland to the east and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island, to the west.
Cape Morton is a headland in North Greenland in Avannaata municipality. The cape is named after Arctic explorer William Morton, who surveyed the Nares Strait area together with Hans Hendrik in June 1854 during the Second Grinnell Expedition.
The Carey Islands are an island group off Baffin Bay, in Avannaata municipality, northwest Greenland. Located relatively far offshore the Carey Islands are the westernmost point of Greenland as a territory. The sea surrounding the islands is clogged by ice most of the year.
Peabody Bay is a large bay in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it is part of Avannaata municipality.
Newman Bay or Newman Fjord is a fjord in northern Greenland. To the northwest, the fjord opens into the Robeson Channel of the Lincoln Sea. It is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
Washington Land is a peninsula in northwestern Greenland. It is a part of the Avannaata municipality.
Bessel Fjord is a fjord in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality.
Joe Island is an island of the Nares Strait, Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality.
Petermann Fjord is a fjord in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it marks the boundary between the Avannaata municipality and the Northeast Greenland National Park.
Lockwood Island is an island of the Lincoln Sea, Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park.
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.
Muskox Fjord is a fjord in King Christian X Land, East Greenland. Administratively it lies in the Northeast Greenland National Park area. This fjord is part of the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord system.
Morris Jesup Glacier (Danish: Morris Jesup Gletscher, is a glacier in northwestern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality.
Repulse Harbour is a bay in northern Greenland. To the northwest it opens into the Lincoln Sea. Administratively it is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
