The Parry Channel ( iu, ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᐃᒪᖓ, ''Tallurutiup Imanga'') is a natural waterway through the central

Canadian 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 ...

. Its eastern two-thirds lie in the 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'' ...

, while its western third (west of 110° West) lies in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. It runs east to west, connecting

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay ( Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arct ...

in the east with the

Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea (; french: Mer de Beaufort, Iñupiaq: ''Taġiuq'') is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, and west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after Sir Fr ...

in the west. Its eastern end is the only practical 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 Arc ...

. Its western end would be a natural exit from the archipelago were it not filled with ice. The channel separates the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the north from the rest of Nunavut. Named parts of the Channel are, from east to west,

Lancaster Sound Lancaster Sound () is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern entrance to the Parry Channel and the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay ...

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 ...

Viscount Melville Sound Viscount Melville Sound is an arm of the Arctic Ocean in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut and the Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. Forming part of the Parry Channel, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Qu ...

and the

McClure Strait The M'Clure Strait (sometimes rendered McClure Strait) is a strait on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories. It forms the northwestern end of the Parry Channel which extends east all the way to Baffin Bay and is thus a possible route fo ...

. On the south are

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 ...

Admiralty Inlet (Nunavut) Admiralty Inlet is a bay in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It extends southerly from Lancaster Sound along the western shore of Baffin Island's Borden Peninsula. The hamlet of Arctic Bay is located on Uluksan Peninsula, a landform th ...

and the

Brodeur Peninsula The Brodeur Peninsula is an uninhabited headland on Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the northwestern part of the island and is bounded by Prince Regent Inlet to the west, Lancaster Sound to the nort ...

of Baffin Island,

Prince Regent Inlet Prince Regent Inlet () is a body of water in Nunavut, Canada between the west end of Baffin Island (Brodeur Peninsula) and Somerset Island on the west. It opens north into Lancaster Sound and to the south merges into the Gulf of Boothia. The Arc ...

which leads to the large Gulf of Boothia,

Somerset Island (Nunavut) Somerset Island (Inuktitut ''Kuuganajuk'') is a large, uninhabited island of the Arctic Archipelago, that is part of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The island is separated from Cornwallis Island and Devon Island to the north by the Parry C ...

Peel Sound Peel Sound is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It separates Somerset Island on the east from Prince of Wales Island on the west. To the north it opens onto Parry Channel while its southern end merges with Franklin Strai ...

which is the main route south,

Prince of Wales Island (Nunavut) Prince of Wales Island (french: Île du Prince-de-Galles) is an Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, it lies between Victoria Island and Somerset Island and is south of the Queen Elizabeth Islan ...

, the ice-choked

M'Clintock Channel M'Clintock Channel (also spelled McClintock Channel) is located in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. The channel, an arm of the Arctic Ocean, divides Victoria Island from Prince of Wales Island. This channel is named after Sir Francis McClintoc ...

Victoria Island (Canada) Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it i ...

, the narrow

Prince of Wales Strait The Prince of Wales Strait is a strait in the Northwest Territories of Canada separating Banks Island to the northwest from Victoria Island to the southeast. It extends from Viscount Melville Sound in the northeast to Amundsen Gulf in the south ...

and

Banks Island Banks Island is one of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago. Situated in the Inuvik Region, and part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, of the Northwest Territories, it is separated from Victoria Island to its east by the Prince of Wa ...

. On the north are Devon Island,

Wellington Channel The Wellington Channel () (not to be confused with Wellington Strait) is a natural waterway through the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It runs north–south, separating Cornwallis Island and Devon Island. Quee ...

Cornwallis Island (Nunavut) Cornwallis Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, part of the Arctic Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. It lies to the west of Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island in the world, and at its great ...

McDougall Sound McDougall Sound is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between southeastern Bathurst Island and western Cornwallis island. The sound's southern mouth opens to the Parry Channel, and beyond that, to the Barrow Stra ...

Bathurst Island (Nunavut) Bathurst Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut, Canada. It is a member of the Arctic Archipelago. The area of the island is estimated at , long and from to to wide, making it the 54th largest island in the world and C ...

Melville Island (Northwest Territories and Nunavut) Melville IslandCoordinates are located on the NWT side. (french: Île Melville; Inuktitut: ''ᐃᓗᓪᓕᖅ, Ilulliq'') is an uninhabited island of the Arctic Archipelago with an area of . It is the 33rd largest island in the world and Can ...

and

Prince Patrick Island A member of the Arctic Archipelago, Prince Patrick Island is the westernmost of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the Northwest Territories of Canada, lying northwest of Melville Island. The area of Prince Patrick Island is , making it the 55th la ...

. Parry Channel is named after Arctic explorer

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 ...

, who in 1819 got as far as Melville Island before being blocked by ice at the McClure Strait. The next ship to get this far west was part of the

Edward Belcher Admiral Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia, he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachusett ...

expedition in 1850.

References

Channels of Nunavut {{QikiqtaalukNU-geo-stub