Lowther Island lies within the
Arctic Archipelago
The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark).
Situated in the northern extremity of No ...
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 ...
of
northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...
's territory of
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'' ...
. It is one of the mid-channel islands in the western sector of
Barrow Strait
Barrow Strait is a shipping waterway in Northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. Forming part of the Parry Channel, the strait separates several large islands including Cornwallis Island and Devon Island to the north, from Prince of Wales Isla ...
.
Bathurst Island and
Cornwallis Island are to the north, while
Prince of Wales Island is to the south. The island is clustered within a group of uninhabited islands. It is northeast of Young Island, separated by the Kettle Passage, a shipping route, and southeast of
Garrett Island, separated by Hayes Channel.
Lowther Island is long, wide, and . It is rimmed by raised beaches, the highest being at . above sea level. Gourdeau Point is on the island's south side, and Lowther Shoal is to the south/southeast.
History
The first
European to sight the island was
William Edward Parry in 1819.
It is named after a relative of
Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale (who visited Lowther Island himself), that worked for the
Hudson's Bay Company.
In August 1852, ÉMile-Frédéric de Bray, searching for Sir
John Franklin, spent a week at Lowther Island and close by
Griffith Island
Griffith Island is a small Antarctic island at the south entrance to Robertson Channel in the Windmill Islands. It was first mapped from air photos taken by USN Operation Highjump and Operation Windmill in 1947 and 1948. It was named by the U ...
. The island was also visited by
Francis Leopold McClintock as part of Capt.
Henry Kellett's 1852 to 1854 expedition.
References
External links
Lowther Islandin the
Atlas of Canada - Toporama; Natural Resources Canada
Further reading
*
{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region
Islands of the Queen Elizabeth Islands
Uninhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region