Prince of Wales Island () is an

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

island in

Nunavut Nunavut 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'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada. This

uninhabited island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

is one of the larger members of 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 the Danish Realm, which is, by itself, much larger ...

, it lies between

Victoria Island Victoria Island () 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 is Canada's second-largest i ...

and Somerset Island and is south of the

Queen Elizabeth Islands The Queen Elizabeth Islands () are the northernmost cluster of islands in Canada's Arctic Archipelago, split between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories in Northern Canada. The Queen Elizabeth Islands contain approximately 14% of the global gl ...

. For administrative purposes, it is divided between Qikiqtaaluk and Kitikmeot regions. There are no permanent settlements on the island.

Geography

It is a low

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

-covered island with an irregular coastline deeply indented by Ommanney Bay in the west and Browne Bay in the east. Ommanney Bay is named after Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommanney of the Royal Navy who explored the area as part of the search for

Franklin's lost expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest ...

. Its area has been estimated at . Prince of Wales Island is the world's 40th largest island and the 10th largest in Canada. Its highest known point—with an elevation of —is an unnamed spot at in the island's far northeastern end, overlooking the Baring Channel, which separates the island from nearby Russell Island.

History

Its European discovery came in 1851 by

Leopold McClintock Sir Francis Leopold McClintock (8 July 1819 – 17 November 1907) was an Irish explorer in the British Royal Navy, known for his discoveries in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. He confirmed explorer John Rae (explorer), John Rae's controv ...

's sledge parties during the searches for

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

's last expedition. McClintock, along with

Sherard Osborn Sherard Osborn (25 April 1822 – 6 May 1875) was a Royal Navy admiral and Arctic explorer. Biography Born in Madras, he was the son of an Indian army officer. Osborn entered the navy as a first-class volunteer in 1837, serving until 1 ...

and William Browne, charted the northern half of the island. Its southern half was charted by

Allen Young Sir Allen William Young, (12 December 1827 – 20 November 1915) was an English master mariner and explorer, best remembered for his role in Arctic exploration including the search for Sir John Franklin. Re the dinner of May 24,1877 attended ...

in 1859. It was named after Albert Edward, eldest son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, then ten years old and Prince of Wales. He later became King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

In popular culture

North of North ''North of North'' is a Canadian comedy television series that premiered on CBC, APTN, and Netflix in 2025. Anna Lambe plays Siaja, a young Inuk woman in the small fictional Canadian Arctic community of Ice Cove, on Prince of Wales Island in ...

is set in the fictional town of Ice Cove, which is situated on Prince of Wales Island.

References

External links

*
Prince of Wales Island
in the

Atlas of Canada The Atlas of Canada () is an online atlas published by Natural Resources Canada that has information on every city, town, village, and hamlet in Canada. It was originally a print atlas, with its first edition being published in 1906 by geographer ...

- Toporama; Natural Resources Canada {{Authority control Uninhabited islands of Kitikmeot Region Uninhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region

Geography

History

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links