Kennedy Channel ( da, Kennedykanalen; french: Passage Kennedy; ) is an

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

sea passage between

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 t ...

and

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 ...

's most northerly island,

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. ...

. It was named by

Elisha Kane Elisha Kent Kane (February 3, 1820 – February 16, 1857) was a United States Navy medical officer and Arctic explorer. He served as assistant surgeon during Caleb Cushing's journey to China to negotiate the Treaty of Wangxia and in the Af ...

around 1854 during his second Arctic voyage in search of the lost Franklin expedition. It is not entirely clear, however, for which Kennedy he named the channel. Kane may have had his fellow explorer William Kennedy in mind, whom he had met a few years previously while both were involved in earlier searches for Franklin's expedition. However, most historians believe it was named for

John Pendleton Kennedy John Pendleton Kennedy (October 25, 1795 – August 18, 1870) was an American novelist, lawyer and Whig politician who served as United States Secretary of the Navy from July 26, 1852, to March 4, 1853, during the administration of President Mi ...

, the

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

during 1852 to 1853, under whose direction Kane's second Arctic voyage took place.

Geography

It forms part of

Nares Strait , other_name = , image = Map indicating Nares Strait.png , alt = , caption = Nares Strait (boxed) is between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry ...

, linking

Kane Basin Kane Basin ( da, Kane Bassin; french: Bassin (de) Kane) is an Arctic waterway lying between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Smith Sound to Kennedy Channel and forms part of Nares Strait. It is approximatel ...

with

Hall Basin Hall Basin is an Arctic waterway between Hall Land in Greenland to the east and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island, to the west. Hall Basin is named after American polar explorer Charles Francis Hall. Geography Hall Basin is locat ...

. From the south, its beginning is marked by Capes

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

; its junction with Hall Basin is marked by Capes Baird and

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

.''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Greenland and Iceland Enroute'', p. 93 It is about 130 kilometres in length, between 24 and 32 kilometres in width and averages water depths between 180 and 340 metres. It contains

Hans Island Hans Island ( Inuktitut and kl, Tartupaluk, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; da, Hans Ø; french: Île Hans) is an island in the very centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Canadian territory of ...

, with an ownership shared between Canada and Denmark, because it is located close to the middle between the two coastlines, but about 1000 meters closer to Greenland's coast. The channel also contains two more islands, Franklin Island and

Crozier Island Crozier Island () is one of three islands located in the Kennedy Channel section of Nares Strait in the high Arctic. It is part of the Avannaata municipality, Greenland. Geography Located to the SW of Franklin Island off Lafayette Bay of the Wa ...

which are located much closer to the Greenland coast and therefore belong to Greenland. Hannah Island is located at the mouth of the

Bessel Fjord Bessel Fjord is a fjord in northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. History The area around the mouth of this fjord was referred to as "Bessel Bay" at the time of the 1869–70 Second German Nor ...

, northeast of

Cape Bryan A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

References

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national ...

, ''Sailing Directions Enroute: Pub 181 Greenland and Iceland (Enroute)'', 2002.

Geography

References

Further reading