The Gulf of Boothia is a body of water in

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'' ...

, Canada. Administratively it is divided between the

Kitikmeot Region Kitikmeot Region (; Inuktitut: ''Qitirmiut'' ) is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together ...

on the west and 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 ...

on the east. It merges north into

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 Arct ...

, the two forming a single bay with different names for its parts. It is surrounded by, clockwise,

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 ...

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 on ...

, the

Melville Peninsula Melville Peninsula is a large peninsula in the Canadian Arctic north of Hudson Bay. To the east is Foxe Basin and to the west the Gulf of Boothia. To the north the Fury and Hecla Strait separates it from Baffin Island. To the south Repulse Bay ...

, the Canadian mainland, and the

Boothia Peninsula Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'', Inuktitut ''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large peninsula in Nunavut's northern Canadian Arctic, south of Somerset Island. The northern part, Murchison Promontory, is the northernmost point o ...

. The south end is

Committee Bay Committee Bay (referred to as Nattiligaarjuk ( iu, ᓇᑦᑎᓕᒑᕐᔪᒃ) by Inuit) is an Arctic waterway in Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It forms the southeast end of the Gulf of Boothia and is bounded on the east by the Melville Penins ...

, northwest of which are the

Simpson Peninsula The Simpson Peninsula is a peninsula in the Gulf of Boothia in Canada's Nunavut territory. It is surrounded by waterways on three sides: Pelly Bay to the west, the Gulf of Boothia to the north, and Committee Bay to the east. Kugaaruk, a Netsilik ...

and

Pelly Bay Pelly Bay is an Arctic waterway in Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Gulf of Boothia. To the east, it is bounded by the Simpson Peninsula. Helen Island lies in the bay. Pelly Bay is named after Sir John Pelly, governor of th ...

. In 1822, it was seen by some of

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 ...

's men, who went on foot along the ice-choked Fury and Hecla Strait. In 1829, it was entered by John Ross, who was frozen in for four years and named it for his patron Sir

Felix Booth Sir Felix Booth, 1st Baronet, FRS (16 July 1780 Clerkenwell – 24 January 1850 Brighton, Sussex) was a wealthy British gin distiller, and promoter of Arctic exploration, with various places in Nunavut, Canada, being named after him. Life and ...

. Its south end was explored by John Rae in 1846–1847, who reached it overland from the south.

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