Somerset Island, Nunavut
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Somerset Island, Nunavut
Somerset Island (Inuktitut ''Kuuganajuk'') is a large, uninhabited island of the Arctic Archipelago, that is part of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The island is separated from Cornwallis Island and Devon Island to the north by the Parry Channel, from Baffin Island to the east by Prince Regent Inlet, from the Boothia Peninsula to the south by Bellot Strait, and from Prince of Wales Island to the west by Peel Sound. It has an area of , making it the 46th largest island in the world and Canada's twelfth largest island. History Around 1000 AD, the north coast of Somerset Island was inhabited by the Thule people, as evidenced by whale bones, tunnels and stone ruins. William Edward Parry was the first documented European to sight the island in 1819. HMS ''Fury'' was an Arctic exploration ship commanded by Henry Parkyns Hoppner. She was damaged by ice while overwintering and was abandoned on 25 August 1825, at what has since been called Fury Beach on Somerset Island. Her sto ...
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Northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This area covers about 48 per cent of Canada's total land area, but has less than 1 per cent of demographics of Canada, Canada's population. The terms "northern Canada" or "the North" may be used in contrast with ''the far north'', which may refer to the Canadian Arctic, the portion of Canada that lies north of the Arctic Circle, east of Alaska and west of Greenland. However, in many other uses the two areas are treated as a single unit. __TOC__ Definitions Subdivisions As a social rather than political region, the Canadian North is often subdivided into two distinct regions based on climate, the ''near north'' and the ''far north''. The different climates of these two regions ...
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List Of Islands By Area
This list of islands by area includes all islands in the world larger than and most of the islands over , sorted in descending order by area. For comparison, four very large continental landmasses are also shown. Continental landmasses Continental landmasses are not usually classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water. However, because the definition of continent varies between geographers, the Americas is sometimes defined as two separate continents while mainland Australia is sometimes defined as an island as well as a continent. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for the four major continental landmasses only. The artificial Panama and Suez canals are disregarded, as they are not natural waters that separate the continents. Islands Islands and greater Islands Islands Islands Is ...
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Gjøa
''Gjøa'' was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six, Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three-year journey, finishing in 1906. History Construction The square-sterned sloop of 47 net register tonnage () was built by Knut Johannesson Skaale in Rosendal, Norway in 1872, the same year Amundsen was born. She was named ''Gjøa'' after her then owner's wife. (''Gjøa'' is a modern form of the Norse name ''Gyða'', in turn a nickname for ''Guðfríðr'', a compound of ''guð'' 'god' and ''fríðr'' 'beautiful'.) For the next 28 years the vessel served as a herring fishing boat. Purchase by Amundsen On March 28, 1901, Amundsen bought her from Asbjørn Sexe of Ullensvang, Norway, for his forthcoming expedition to the Arctic Ocean. ''Gjøa'' was much smaller than vessels used by other Arctic expeditions, but Amundsen intended to live off the limited resources of the land and sea through which he was to travel, and reasoned that the land ...
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Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen began his career as a polar explorer as first mate on Adrien de Gerlache's Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899. From 1903 to 1906, he led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage on the sloop ''Gjøa''. In 1909, Amundsen began planning for a South Pole expedition. He left Norway in June 1910 on the ship ''Fram'' and reached Antarctica in January 1911. His party established a camp at the Bay of Whales and a series of supply depots on the Barrier (now known as the Ross Ice Shelf) before setting out for the pole in October. The party of five, led by Amundsen, became the first to successfully reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911. Following a failed attempt in 1918 to reach the North Pole by traversing the ...
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Sled
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners similar in principle to skis. This reduces the amount of friction, which helps to carry heavy loads. Some designs are used to transport passengers or cargo across relatively level ground. Others are designed to go downhill for recreation, particularly by children, or competition. (Compare cross-country skiing with its downhill cousin.) Shades of meaning differentiating the three terms often reflect regional variations depending on historical uses and prevailing climate. In British English, ''sledge'' is the general term, and more common than ''sled''. ''Toboggan'' is sometimes used synonymously with ''sledge'' but more often to refer to a particular type of sledge without runners. ''Sleigh'' refers to a moderate to large-sized, usually ...
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Port Leopold, Prince Leopold Island And Elwin Bay
The locality Port Leopold is an abandoned trading post in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It faces Prince Regent Inlet at the northeast tip of Somerset Island. Elwin Bay is to the south, while Prince Leopold Island is to the north. History In 1848, the English explorer James Clark Ross wintered here during his search for the missing Franklin expedition. Later, it became the site of a Hudson's Bay Company trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr .... Mapping *Elwin Bay, *Prince Leopold Island, References Ghost towns in Nunavut Geography of Qikiqtaaluk Region Ports and harbours of Nunavut Former populated places in the Qikiqtaaluk Region Hudson's Bay Company trading posts in Nunavut {{Canada-ghost-town-stub ...
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James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edward Parry, and, in particular, for his own Antarctic expedition from 1839 to 1843. Biography Early life Ross was born in London, the son of George Ross and nephew of John Ross, under whom he entered the Royal Navy on 5 April 1812. Ross was an active participant in the Napoleonic Wars, being present at an action where HMS ''Briseis'', commanded by his uncle, captured ''Le Petit Poucet'' (a French privateer) on 9 October 1812. Ross then served successively with his uncle on HMS ''Actaeon'' and HMS ''Driver''. Arctic exploration Ross participated in John's unsuccessful first Arctic voyage in search of a Northwest Passage in 1818 aboard ''Isabella''. Between 1819 and 1827 Ross took part in four Arctic expeditions under William Ed ...
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Gulf Of Boothia
The Gulf of Boothia is a body of water in Nunavut, Canada. Administratively it is divided between the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Kitikmeot Region on the west and the Qikiqtaaluk Region on the east. It merges north into Prince Regent Inlet, the two forming a single bay with different names for its parts. It is surrounded by, clockwise, Baffin Island, Fury and Hecla Strait, the Melville Peninsula, the Canadian mainland, and the Boothia Peninsula. The south end is Committee Bay, northwest of which are the Simpson Peninsula and Pelly Bay. In 1822, it was seen by some of William Edward Parry's men, who went on foot along the ice-choked Fury and Hecla Strait. In 1829, it was entered by John Ross (Arctic explorer), John Ross, who was frozen in for four years and named it for his patron Sir Felix Booth. Its south end was explored by John Rae (explorer), John Rae in 1846–1847, who reached it overland from the south. Further reading

* Barber, D. G., and J. Iacozza. 2004. "Histori ...
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John Ross (Royal Navy Officer)
Sir John Ross (24 June 1777 – 30 August 1856) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and polar explorer. He was the uncle of Sir James Clark Ross, who explored the Arctic with him, and later led expeditions to Antarctica. Biography Early life John Ross was born in Balsarroch, West Galloway, Scotland, on , the son of the Reverend Andrew Ross of Balsarroch, Minister of Inch in Wigtownshire, and Elizabeth Corsane, daughter of Robert Corsane, the Provost of Dumfries. His family home was on the shore of Loch Ryan, at Stranraer. Naval career In 1786, aged nine, Ross joined the Royal Navy as a first-class volunteer and was assigned to . It soon sailed to the Mediterranean Sea, where it remained until 1789. He then served aboard for several months before a transfer to the merchant marine for eight years. In September 1799 he was recalled to the Navy and appointed midshipman on HMS ''Weazel'', which shortly joined in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. Short per ...
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Henry Parkyns Hoppner
Captain Henry Parkyns Hoppner (179522 December 1833) was an officer of the Royal Navy, Arctic explorer, draughtsman and artist. His career included two ill-fated voyages culminating in the loss of in 1816 and HMS ''Fury'' in 1825. Early years Born in London, Hoppner was the fourth child of English portraitist John Hoppner and Phoebe Wright (1761–1827), daughter of American sculptor Patience Lovell Wright. Not much is known of his younger sibling. There were three older brothers whom the father painted in the 1791 oil on canvas, ''The Hoppner Children'', a part of the National Gallery of Art's Widener collection: * Catherine Hampden Hoppner (1784–1828), Magistrate in the service of the East India Company * Richard Belgrave Hoppner (1786–1872), British Consul general at Venice, * Wilson (sometimes known as William) Lascelles Hoppner (1788–?), artist Career Hoppner joined the Royal Navy in 1808, and served during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. His first shipboar ...
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HMS Fury (1814)
HMS ''Fury'' was a of the British Royal Navy. Military service The ship was ordered on 5 June 1813 from the yard of Mrs Mary Ross, at Rochester, Kent, laid down in September, and launched on 4 April 1814. ''Fury'' saw service at the Bombardment of Algiers on 27 August 1816, under the command of Constantine Richard Moorsom. Arctic exploration Between November 1820 and April 1821, ''Fury'' was converted to an Arctic exploration ship and re-rated as a sloop. Commander William Edward Parry commissioned her in December 1820, and ''Fury'' then made two journeys to the Arctic, both in company with her sister ship, . Her first Arctic journey, in 1821, was Parry's second in search of the Northwest Passage. The farthest point on this trip, the perpetually frozen strait between Foxe Basin and the Gulf of Boothia, was named after the two ships: Fury and Hecla Strait. On her second Arctic trip, ''Fury'' was commanded by Henry Parkyns Hoppner while Parry, in overall command of the exp ...
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William Edward Parry
Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was an Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Passage, until it was finally negotiated by Roald Amundsen in 1906. In 1827, Parry attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole. He reached 82° 45' N, setting a record for human exploration Farthest North that stood for nearly five decades before being surpassed at 83° 20' N by Albert Hastings Markham in 1875. Early life Parry was born in Bath, Somerset, the son of Caleb Hillier Parry and Sarah Rigby. He was educated at King Edward's School. At the age of thirteen he joined the flagship of Admiral Sir William Cornwallis in the Channel fleet as a first-class volunteer, in 1806 became a midshipman, and in 1810 received promotion to the rank of lieutenant in the frigate ''Alexander'', which spent the ne ...
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