Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea (French: ''mer du Labrador'', Danish: ''Labradorhavet'') is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its 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's second-largest country by tot ...

. This

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

lies between

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

and

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the I ...

, with its eastern entrance marked by

Cape Chidley Cape Chidley is a headland located on the eastern shore of Killiniq Island, Canada, at the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula. Cape Chidley was named by English explorer John Davis on August 1, 1587, after his friend and fellow explorer ...

in Newfoundland and Labrador and Resolution Island off

. The strait is about 750 km long with an average width of 125 km, varying from 70 km at the eastern entrance to 240 km at Deception Bay. English navigator Sir Martin Frobisher was the first European to report entering the strait, in 1578. He named a tidal rip at the entrance the Furious Overfall and called the strait ''Mistaken Strait'', since he felt it held less promise as an entrance to the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

than the body of water that was later named

Frobisher Bay Frobisher Bay is an inlet of the Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island. Its length is about and its width varies from about at its outlet into the Labrador Sea ...

. John Davis sailed by the entrance to the strait during his voyage of 1587. The first European to explore the strait was

George Weymouth George Weymouth (Waymouth) () was an English explorer of the area now occupied by the state of Maine. Voyages George Weymouth was a native of Cockington, Devon, who spent his youth studying shipbuilding and mathematics. In 1602 Weymouth was ...

who sailed 300 nautical miles beyond the Furious Overfall in 1602. The strait was named after

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...

who explored it in 1610 in the ship

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

, the same ship previously used by George Weymouth in 1602. Hudson was followed by

Thomas Button Sir Thomas Button (died April, 1634) was a Wales, Welsh officer of the Royal Navy, notable as an explorer who in 1612–1613 commanded an expedition that unsuccessfully attempted to locate explorer Henry Hudson and to navigate the Northwest Pa ...

in 1612, and a more detailed mapping expedition led by

Robert Bylot Robert Bylot () was an English 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 in the English Royal Navy. Voyages Robert Bylot First voyage, 1610� ...

and

William Baffin William Baffin ( – 23 January 1622) was an English navigator, explorer and cartographer. He is primarily known for his attempt to find a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, during the course of which he was the first Euro ...

in 1616. Hudson Strait links the northern seaports of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

with the Atlantic Ocean. The Strait could serve as an eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage if it were not for ice in the

Fury and Hecla Strait Fury and Hecla Strait is a narrow (from wide) Arctic seawater channel located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Geography Situated between Baffin Island to the north and the Melville Peninsula to the south, it connects Foxe Basin o ...

south of western Baffin Island.

Extent

The

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

defines the limits of the Hudson Strait as follows: ::''On the West.'' A line from Nuvuk Point () to Leyson Point, thence by the Eastern shore of

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 Seahorse Point, its Eastern extreme, thence a line to Lloyd Point ()

. ::''On the North.'' The South coast of Baffin Island between Lloyd Point and East Bluff. ::''On the East.'' A line from East Bluff, the Southeast extreme of Baffin Island (), to Point Meridian, the Western extreme of

Lower Savage Islands The Lower Savage Islands are an uninhabited offshore island group of Baffin Island, located in the Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. The islands lie in the Gabriel Strait, an arm of Davis Strait, northwest of Resolution Island, ...

, along the coast to its Southwestern extreme and thence a line across to the Western extreme of Resolution Island, through its Southwestern shore to Hatton Headland, its Southern point, thence a line to

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

(). ::''On the South.'' The mainland between Cape Chidley and Nuvuk Point.

Extent

References

Further reading