Frozen Strait is a waterway in
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
just north of
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
between the
Melville Peninsula
Melville Peninsula is a large peninsula in the Canadian Arctic north of Hudson Bay. To the east is Foxe Basin and to the west the Gulf of Boothia. To the north the Fury and Hecla Strait separates it from Baffin Island. To the south Repulse Bay ...
to the north and
Southampton Island
Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the ...
to the south. It connects
Repulse Bay
Repulse Bay or Tsin Shui Wan is a bay in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, located in the Southern District, Hong Kong. It is one of the most expensive residential areas in the world.
Geography
Repulse Bay is located in the southern ...
to the west with
Foxe Basin
Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by sea ice (fast ice) and drift ice made up of multiple ice floes.
Th ...
to the east. The strait is long, and 19 to 32 km (12 to 20 miles) wide.
In 1615
Robert Bylot
Robert Bylot () was an English List of explorers, explorer who made four voyages to the Arctic. He was uneducated and from a working-class background, but was able to rise to rank of Master mariner, master in the English Royal Navy.
Voyages
...
was blocked by ice at its east end. In 1742
Christopher Middleton reached the west end. He sailed north through
Roes Welcome Sound
Roes Welcome Sound is a long channel at the northwest end of Hudson Bay in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada between the mainland on the west and Southampton Island on the east. It opens south into Hudson Bay. Its north end joins Repulse Bay which ...
to Repulse Bay. Seeing the strait ice-filled in August, it seemed clear that there was no passage so he gave the names Frozen Strait and Repulse Bay. In 1821
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 Pass ...
passed the strait with no difficulty. Some have suggested that
bowhead whales
The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, an ...
appear to migrate in the spring and fall through
Roes Welcome Sound
Roes Welcome Sound is a long channel at the northwest end of Hudson Bay in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada between the mainland on the west and Southampton Island on the east. It opens south into Hudson Bay. Its north end joins Repulse Bay which ...
, but the possibility of migration through Frozen Strait cannot be ruled out.
See also
*
Arctic oscillation
The Arctic oscillation (AO) or Northern Annular Mode/Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode (NAM) is a weather phenomenon at the Arctic pole north of 20 degrees latitude. It is an important mode of climate variability for the Northern Hemisphere. The s ...
*
Maunder minimum
*
Great Frost of 1683–84
The Great Frost of 1683–1684 was a frost across England, reported as the worst in its history. During the Frost, the surface of the River Thames was reported as frozen to the depth of . The Great Frost enabled one of the River Thames frost f ...
*
Great Frost of 1709
The Great Frost, as it was known in England, or ' ("The Great Winter"), as it was known in France, was an extraordinarily cold winter in Europe in 1708–1709,. and was the coldest European winter during the past 500 years.
Notability
William ...
*
Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Ma ...
*
River Thames frost fairs
The River Thames frost fairshttps://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=599805001&objectId=3199037&partId=1 Erra Paters Prophesy or Frost Faire 1684/3 were held on th ...
References
Straits of Kivalliq Region
Foxe Basin
{{KivalliqNU-geo-stub