Cape Columbia is the northernmost point of land of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

, located on

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and third largest island, and the tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Bri ...

in the

Qikiqtaaluk Region The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ ) or Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut name f ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'', ...

. It marks the westernmost coastal point of Lincoln Sea in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

. It is the world's northernmost point of land outside

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

. The distance to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

is .

90_sea-ice_pressure_ridge,_Cape_Columbia_01

90_sea-ice_pressure_ridge,_detail,_Cape_Columbia

As the northernmost point of Canada, Cape Columbia is exposed to the

ice drift Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice, which has an even lower density). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oc ...

of the Arctic

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

. The approximately thick pack ice of the

moves several hundred meters per day from east to west. As a result, mighty ice pressure ridges can be piled up at Cape Columbia.

History

In 1876,

Pelham Aldrich Admiral Pelham Aldrich, CVO (8 December 1844 – 12 November 1930) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer, who became Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth Docks. Biography He was born in Mildenhall, Suffolk, the son of Dr. Pelham Aldrich and El ...

was the first European to reach Cape Columbia. He was a lieutenant with the expedition (1875-76) of British explorer

George Nares Vice-Admiral Sir George Strong Nares (24 April 1831 – 15 January 1915) was a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. He commanded the ''Challenger'' Expedition, and the British Arctic Expedition. He was highly thought of as a leader an ...

Peary

Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for, in Apri ...

chose the Cape as the location for the northernmost depot of his final attempt to reach the Pole (1909), not only for its proximity but because it is located far enough west to be out of the ice current setting down Robeson Channel. From Cape Columbia his party planned to strike straight north over the ice of the Arctic Sea. His winter camp and ship the ''Roosevelt'' were situated some southeast, at

Cape Sheridan Cape Sheridan is on the northeastern coast of Ellesmere Island, Canada situated on the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean, on the mouth of Sheridan River, west bank. It is one of the closest points of land to the geographic North Pole, approx to the ...

near Alert. Peary's sledge divisions left the Roosevelt from February 15 to 22, 1909, rendezvoused at Cape Columbia, and on March 1 the expedition left Cape Columbia, heading across the Arctic Ocean for the Pole. The 84th parallel was crossed on March 18, the 86th on March 23. Peary returned to land at Cape Columbia again on April 23. Peary's claim to have reached the North Pole has long been subject to doubt. While some polar historians believe that Peary honestly thought he had reached the pole, others have suggested that he was guilty of deliberately exaggerating his accomplishments.

References

* Columbia Extreme points of Canada Ellesmere Island {{QikiqtaalukNU-geo-stub