Canadian Arctic islands
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Arcticisl.png The Canadian Arctic islands make up much of the territory of Northern Canada – most of Nunavut and part of Northwest Territories. The islands form the northernmost portion of North America but are a remote wilderness far removed from the populated areas of the continent. Ellesmere Island, Victoria Island, and Baffin Island are three of the largest islands in the world.
The Arctic islands make up the former Northwest Territories District of Franklin. Other islands in the archipelago are Banks Island, Prince of Wales Island, Devon Island, Prince Patrick Island, Melville Island, Sverdrup Islands, Axel Heiberg Island, Southampton Island, Somerset Island and King William Island. The group of islands is bounded on the west by the Beaufort Sea, on the north by the Arctic Sea, on the east by Greenland, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, and on the south by Hudson Bay and the mainland of Canada.
The climate of the islands is arctic, and the terrain consists of tundra except in mountainous areas. Human settlement is extremely thin and scattered, being mainly coastal Inuit settlements.
British claims on the islands were based on the explorations in the 1570s by Martin Frobisher. Canadian sovereignty over them was not established until the District of Franklin was established in 1895. Canada claims sovereignty in a sector continuing to the North Pole, a claim that is not universally recognized. In addition, Canada claims the water between the Arctic Islands as internal waters, a claim that is not recognized by the United States, and which has caused some conflict with respect to the enforcement of environmental laws. Image:Canadarcticislands.gif
See also
et:Arktika saarestik nl:Canadese Arctische Eilanden pl:Archipelag Arktyczny pt:Arquipélago Ártico Canadiano fi:Kanadan arktiset saaret sv:Kanadas arktiska öar