Queen Elizabeth Islands

The islands, together {{convert|419061|km2|abbr=on}} in area, were renamed as a group after Elizabeth II on her coronation as Queen of Canada in 1953. The islands cover an area approximately the shape of a right triangle, bounded by the Nares Strait on the east, Parry Channel on the south and the Arctic Ocean to the north and west. Most are uninhabited although the Natural Resources Canada's Climate Change Geoscience Program Earth Sciences Sector (ESS), has monitors on the islands. In 1969 Panarctic Oils, now part of Suncor Energy, began operating exploration oil wells in the Franklinian and Sverdrup basins and planned on establishing its resource base in the Queen Elizabeth Islands. It ceased production in the 1970s. At the 2013 GeoConvention the Arctic Islands region were called Canada's perpetual "last petroleum exploration frontier". Hogg and Enachescu argued that the development and implementation of advanced marine and land seismic technologies in Alaska, Northern Europe and Siberia could be modified for use in the Queen Elizabeth Islands.{{cite conference|title=Reviving Exploration in the Arctic Islands: Opportunities and Challenges from an Operator's Perspective |first1=John R. |last1=Hogg|first2=Michael E |last2=Enachescu|location=Calgary, Alberta|year=2013|conference=GeoConvention 2013: Integration }}

Queen Elizabeth Islands had not been fully charted until the British Northwest Passage expeditions and later Norwegian exploration of the 19th century.

These islands were known as the Parry Archipelago for over 130 years. They were first named after British Arctic explorer Sir William Parry, who sailed there in 1820, aboard the Hecla. Since the renaming of the archipelago in 1953, the term Parry Islands continued to be used for its southwestern part (less Ellesmere Island and the Sverdrup Islands). The regional break down of the archipelago is therefore as follows:

• Ellesmere Island
• Sverdrup Islands
• Parry Islands

Ellesmere Island is the northernmost and by far the largest. The Sverdrup Islands are located west of Ellesmere Island and north of Norwegian Bay. The remaining islands further south and west, but north of the Parry Channel (Lancaster Sound, Viscount Melville Sound and M'Clure Strait), have been carrying the name Parry Islands, which name until 1953 had also included the Sverdrup Islands and Ellesmere Island. South of the Parry Channel are the remaining islands of the Arctic Archipelago.

The islands lay on top of and were formed by the movement of the Queen Elizabeth Islands Subplate.

Many of the islands are among the largest in the world, the largest being Ellesmere Island. Other major islands include Amund Ringnes Island, Axel Heiberg Island, Bathurst Island, Borden Island, Cornwall Island, Cornwallis Island, Devon Island, Eglinton Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Mackenzie King Island, Melville Island, and Prince Patrick Island.{{cite web|url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html |title=Sea islands |work=Atlas of Canada |access-date=January 22, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122002132/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html |archive-date=January 22, 2013 }}

Other smaller but notable islands include; Beechey Island ({{coord|74|43|N|091|51|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:30000|name=Beechey Island}}), which held the graves of Petty Officer John Torrington, Royal Marine Private William Braine, and Able Seaman John Hartnell, three members of Sir John Franklin's crew who took part in his lost expedition,[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1853/01/20/75123977.pdf Researches for Sir John Franklin][http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/specialfeatures/franklinexpedition/time.asp Franklin timeline] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408090136/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/specialfeatures/franklinexpedition/time.asp |date=April 8, 2012 }} Hans Island ({{coord|80|49|41|N|066|27|35|W|region:CA_type:isle|name=Hans Island}}), a small, uninhabited barren knoll measuring {{convert|1.3|km2|abbr=on}} whose ownership was disputed by Canada and Denmark until 14 June 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half.,{{Cite web |url=http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/40409/news/nunavut/40409_08.html |title=Greenland, Canada squabbling over pet rock |access-date=2009-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605143228/http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/40409/news/nunavut/40409_08.html |archive-date=2008-06-05 |url-status=dead }} the Cheyne Islands ({{coord|76|18|22|N|097|31|12|W|type:isle_region:CA_scale:30000|name=Cheyne Islands}}), three small ({{convert|0.73|km2|abbr=on}} together) islands that are Important Bird Area (#NU049) and a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site (NU site 5)[http://www.bsc-eoc.org/iba/site.jsp?siteID=NU049 Cheyne Islands] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319152937/http://www.bsc-eoc.org/iba/site.jsp?siteID=NU049 |date=March 19, 2012 }} and Skraeling Island ({{coord|78|54|42|N|075|37|58|W|type:isle_region:CA_scale:40000|name=Skraeling Island}}) an important archaeological site where Inuit (along with their ancestors the Dorset and Thule) and Norse artifacts have been found.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut000531/nvt20512_13.html |title=Vikings: the Arctic's first European visitors |access-date=2009-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121152945/http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut000531/nvt20512_13.html |archive-date=2006-11-21 |url-status=dead }} They consist of Silurian and Carboniferous rocks covered with tundra.

With a population of less than 400, the islands are nearly uninhabited. There are only three permanently inhabited places in the islands. The two municipalities are the hamlets of Resolute (population 198 as of the 2016 census{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204022&Geo2=CD&Code2=6204&Data=Count&SearchText=Resolute&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=6204022&TABID=11|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - Resolute|publisher=Statistics Canada|access-date=2017-03-03}}), on Cornwallis Island, and Grise Fiord (population 129 as of the 2016 census{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204025&Geo2=CD&Code2=6204&Data=Count&SearchText=Grise%20Fiord&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=6204025&TABID=11 |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - Grise Fiord|publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=2017-03-03}}), on Ellesmere Island. Alert is a weather station staffed by Environment and Climate Change Canada, a Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) atmosphere monitoring laboratory on Ellesmere Island, and has several temporary inhabitants due to the co-located CFS Alert. Eureka, a small research base on Ellesmere Island, has a population of zero but at least eight staff on a continuous rotational basis.

{{legend2|#F9F9F9|Abandoned|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#99FF99|Permanent Settlement|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#ffff66|Seasonally Occupied|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

Formerly staffed stations were Mould Bay on Prince Patrick Island, Isachsen on Ellef Ringnes Island, and Fort Conger on Ellesmere Island.

Abandoned settlements are Dundas Harbour on Devon Island and Craig Harbour on Ellesmere Island.

Until 1999, the Queen Elizabeth Islands were part of the Baffin Region of the Northwest Territories.

With the creation of Nunavut in 1999 all islands and fractions of islands of the archipelago east of the 110th meridian west became part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the new territory, which was the major portion of the archipelago. The rest remained with the now-reduced Northwest Territories. Borden Island, Mackenzie King Island and Melville Island were divided between the two territories.

Prince Patrick Island, Eglinton Island and Emerald Island are the only notable islands that are now completely part of the Northwest Territories.

Below the level of the territory, there is the municipal level of administration. On that level, there are only two municipalities, Resolute and Grise Fiord, with an aggregate area of {{convert|450|km2|abbr=on}} (0.11 percent of the area of the Queen Elizabeth Islands), but with most of the population of the archipelago (327 in 2021). The remaining 99.89 percent are unincorporated area, with a census 2021 population of zero, albeit a fluctuating population centred in Alert and Eureka, Nunavut.

According to the Atlas of Canada there are 34 larger and 2,092 smaller islands in the archipelago. With the exception of Ellesmere Island, they fall into two groups, the Sverdrup Islands and the Parry Islands:

|align="right" {{convert|200|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|1126|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 44|| style="text-align:right;"| 298|| {{coord|76|10|N|103|15|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:300000|name=Île Vanier}}

|-

| King Christian{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/king-christian.php |title=King Christian Island |work=oceandots.com |access-date=May 12, 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223015139/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/king-christian.php |archive-date=December 23, 2010 }} || {{hs|32}}Sverdrup || NU || King Christian Mountain

|align="right" {{convert|165|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|645|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 60|| style="text-align:right;"| 420|| {{coord|77|45|N|102|00|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:200000|name=King Christian Island}}

|-

| Little Cornwallis Island{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/little-cornwallis.php |title=Little Cornwallis Island |access-date=2009-08-20 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/little-cornwallis.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com|| {{hs|19}}Parry|| NU ||  || style="text-align:right;"|   ||  

|align="right" {{convert|412|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}}|| style="text-align:right;"| 75|| style="text-align:right;"|  ||{{coord|75|30|N|096|30|W|region:CA-NU_type:isle_scale:200000|name=Little Cornwallis Island}}

|-

| Lougheed{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/lougheed.php |title=Lougheed Island |access-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/lougheed.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com || {{hs|20}}Parry || NU || 

|align="right" {{convert|60|-|110|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|1308|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 41|| style="text-align:right;"| 273|| {{coord|77|24|N|105|15|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:500000|name=Lougheed Island}}

|-

| Lowther Island[http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map?mapsize=428%20380&lat=74.5500000005&long=-97.5000000009&mapxy=-74085.399991+2785681.64631&scale=5000000&feature_na=Lowther+Island&location1=62&unique_key=0cf9acba849c20c39a56f6c7af667335&searchstring=Lowther%20Island&entity=ISL&layers=fapfeature+fapfeature%20north_arrow%20other_features%20million_grid%20t50k_grid%20grid_50k_3%20roads%20hydrography%20boundary%20builtup%20vegetation%20populated_places%20railway%20power_network%20manmade_features%20designated_areas%20water_features%20water_saturated_soils%20relief%20contours%20toponymy%20contour%20nodata_ntdb_50k&urlappend=%26unique_key%3D0cf9acba849c20c39a56f6c7af667335%26map.layer%5Dtextzoom03%5B%3DFEATURE+POINTS+-73466.1628188+2785978.29039+END+TEXT+%22Lowther%2BIsland%22+END%26map.layer%5Dtextzoom46%5B%3DFEATURE+POINTS+-73466.1628188+2785978.29039+END+TEXT+%22Lowther%2BIsland%22+END%26map.layer%5Dpolygonresultzoom0%5B%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Dpolygonresultzoom1%5B%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Dpolygonresultzoom2%5B%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Dpolygonresultzoom0outline%5B%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Dpolygonresultzoom1outline%5B%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Dpolygonresultzoom2outline%5B%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Darrowzoom03%5B%3DFEATURE+POINTS+-73466.1628188+2785978.29039+END+END Lowther Island] at the Atlas of Canada {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}|| {{hs|21}}Parry|| NU ||raised beach

|align="right" {{convert|106.5|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|145|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}}|| style="text-align:right;"| 133|| style="text-align:right;"|  ||{{coord|74|33|N|097|30|W|type:isle_scale:100000_region:CA-NU|name=Lowther Island}}

|-

| Mackenzie King{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/mackenzie-king.php |title=Mackenzie King Island |access-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/mackenzie-king.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com || {{hs|22}}Parry || NU/NT || Castel Butte

|align="right" {{convert|300|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|5048|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 26|| style="text-align:right;"| 115|| {{coord|77|43|N|111|57|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:1000000|name=Mackenzie King Island}}

|-

| Massey{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/massey.php |title=Massey Island |access-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/massey.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com || {{hs|23}}Parry || NU || 

|align="right" {{convert|210|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|432|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 71|| style="text-align:right;"|  || {{coord|75|59|N|102|58|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:300000|name=Massey Island}}

|-

| Meighen[http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpe/environments/maps/detailed/islands/meighen.htm#meighen Meighen Island] at arctic.uoguelph.ca || {{hs|33}}Sverdrup || NU || 

|align="right" {{convert|260|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|955|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 50|| style="text-align:right;"| 337|| {{coord|79|59|N|099|30|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:300000|name=Meighen Island}}

|-

| Melville{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/melville.php |title=Melville Island |access-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/melville.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com || {{hs|24}}Parry || NU/NT || 

|align="right" {{convert|776|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|42149|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 8|| style="text-align:right;"| 33|| {{coord|75|30|N|111|30|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:2000000|name=Melville Island}}

|-

| North Kent{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/north-kent.php |title=North Kent Island |access-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/north-kent.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com || {{hs|25}}Parry || NU || 

|align="right" {{convert|600|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|590|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 62|| style="text-align:right;"| 453|| {{coord|76|40|N|090|15|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:1000000|name=North Kent Island}}

|-

| Prince Patrick[http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=654 Prince Patrick Island] at peakbagger.com || {{hs|26}}Parry || NT || 

|align="right" {{convert|279|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|15848|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}} || style="text-align:right;"| 14|| style="text-align:right;"| 55|| {{coord|76|45|N|119|30|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:5000000|name=Prince Patrick Island}}

|-

| Stor Island{{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/stor.php |title=Stor Island |work=oceandots.com |access-date=April 13, 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223015139/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/stor.php |archive-date=December 23, 2010 }}|| {{hs|34}}Sverdrup || NU || 

|align="right" {{convert|500|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|align="right" {{convert|313|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}}|| style="text-align:right;"| 87|| style="text-align:right;"|  ||{{coord|78|59|N|085|50|W|region:CA-NU_type:isle_scale:150000|name=Stor Island}}

|- class="sortbottom"

| remaining 2,092 islands || || NU/NT || || style="text-align:right;"| || style="text-align:right;"|

| align="right" {{convert|2321|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}}|| || style="text-align:right;"| ... || style="text-align:right;"| ...

|- style="background:#ddd;" class="sortbottom"

| Queen Elizabeth ||   || NU/NT || Barbeau Peak

| align="right" {{convert|2616|m|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| align="right" {{convert|419061|km2|disp=table|sortable=on}}|| style="text-align:right;"| ... || style="text-align:right;"| ... || {{Coord|78|05|N|095|10|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:5000000|display=inline,title|name=Queen Elizabeth Islands}}

|}

In 2000 it was estimated that the Queen Elizabeth Islands were covered by about {{convert|104000|km2|abbr=on}} glaciers that represent c.14% of all glaciers and ice caps in the world. According to a 2011 report, the surface mass balance of four, the Devon Ice Cap measured {{convert|1699|km2|abbr=on}} (northwest sector only); the Meighen Ice Cap measured {{convert|75|km2|abbr=on}}; the Melville South Ice Cap measured {{convert|52|km2|abbr=on}} and the White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island glacier was {{convert|39|km2|abbr=on}}. The size of these glaciers has been measured since 1961 and their results published in such distinguished journals as the International Glaciological Society's Annals of Glaciology.{{cite journal|last1=Cogley|first1=J. G.|first2=W. P. |last2=Adams|first3=M. A. |last3=Ecclestone|first4=F. |last4=Jung‐Rothenhausler|first5=C. S. L. |last5=Ommaney |year=1996|title=Mass balance of White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, NWT, Canada, 1960–91|journal=Journal of Glaciology|volume=42|issue=142|pages=548–563|bibcode=1996JGlac..42..548C|doi=10.1017/S0022143000003531|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Koerner|first=R. M. |year=2005|title=Mass balance of glaciers in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, Canada|journal=Annals of Glaciology |volume=42|issue=1 |pages=417–423 |doi=10.3189/172756405781813122|bibcode=2005AnGla..42..417K |doi-access=free}}

Of the four ice caps that the federal government's NRCan's Climate Change Geoscience Program Earth Sciences Sector (ESS), monitors onsite in the Canadian High Arctic, three are in the Queen Elizabeth Islands: Devon, Meighen and Melville.{{cite news|url=http://o.canada.com/news/national/canadas-arctic-ice-caps-melting-rapidly-since-2005-according-to-documents/|title=Canada's Arctic ice caps melting rapidly since 2005, according to documents|first=Jason|last=Fekete|publisher=Postmedia|date=18 February 2014|access-date=22 February 2014|archive-date=18 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718115227/http://o.canada.com/news/national/canadas-arctic-ice-caps-melting-rapidly-since-2005-according-to-documents|url-status=dead}} A 2013 Natural Resources Canada memo says that shrinking of the ice caps started in the late 1980s, and has accelerated rapidly since 2005. The increased melt rate was confirmed by University of California, Irvine in 2017.{{cite web|url= https://news.uci.edu/research/canadian-glaciers-now-major-contributor-to-sea-level-change-uci-study-shows/ |title=Canadian glaciers now major contributor to sea level change, UCI study shows|work= UCI News|date=14 February 2017|access-date=20 February 2017}}

Computer analysis of a glacier inventory of Axel Heiberg Island was undertaken in the 1960s.{{cite journal|title=Computer Analysis of a Glacier Inventory of Axel Heiberg Island: Canadian Arctic Archipelago|first1=C. S.L. |last1=Ommanney|first2=R. H. |last2=Goodman|first3=Fritz |last3=Müller|journal=Hydrological Sciences Journal|year=1969|volume=14|pages=19–28 |doi=10.1080/02626666909493698|doi-access=free}} Later inventories of the World Glacier Monitoring Service under the direction of Fritz Müller, who worked on glacier inventories internationally, included the Axel Heiberg Island glacier.{{cite journal|journal=Hydrological Sciences Bulletin|title=Obituary Fritz Muller |first=Herbert |last=Lang|volume=26|number=3|location=Zürich, Switzerland|orig-year=1981|date=21 Dec 2009|pages=332–333 |doi=10.1080/02626668109490893|doi-access=free}}

Other glaciers and ice caps in the Queen Elizabeth Islands include the Agassiz Ice Cap, Benedict Glacier, Disraeli Glacier, Eugenie Glacier, Gull Glacier, Parrish Glacier, Sven Hedin Glacier and the Turnabout Glacier.

• List of islands of Canada
• List of Canadian islands by area
• Royal eponyms in Canada

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{GeoGroup}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/bathurst.php |title=Bathurst Island |access-date=2010-08-25 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/bathurst.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/meighen.php |date=December 23, 2010 |title=Meighen Island }} at oceandots.com
• {{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/prince-patrick.php |title=Prince Patrick Island |access-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/arctic/canada/prince-patrick.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} at oceandots.com

{{Queen Elizabeth Islands}}

{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region}}

{{Elizabeth II}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Archipelagoes of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Islands