Borden Island is an uninhabited, low-lying

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Queen Elizabeth Islands of northern Canada.

Some features and history

With an area of in size, long and wide, Borden is the 171st largest island in the world, and Canada's 30th largest island. It lies north of

Mackenzie King Island Mackenzie King Island is one of the uninhabited Queen Elizabeth Islands in northern Canada. It lies north of Melville Island and south of Borden Island, and like them is divided when it comes to administration. Most of the island is in Northwes ...

and is similarly split between the Northwest Territories (larger portion) and Nunavut, with the border running along the

110th meridian west The meridian 110° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 110th meridian west forms a great ...

. The first known sighting of the island was by

Vilhjalmur Stefansson Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada. Early life Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had ...

in 1916, it was originally described as a single landmass. However, in 1947, during an aerial survey by the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

the island was found to be two islands divided by Wilkins Strait.

Naming

The island is named for

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

, Prime Minister of Canada 1911–1920.

References

External links

Borden Island in the Atlas of Canada – Toporama; Natural Resources Canada
{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region Islands of the Queen Elizabeth Islands Uninhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region Uninhabited islands of the Northwest Territories Borders of Nunavut Borders of the Northwest Territories

Some features and history

Naming

References

Further reading

External links