 Meighen Island, Nunavut | |
  Meighen Island  Meighen Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Arctic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 79°59′N099°30′W / 79.983°N 99.500°W /79.983; -99.500 (Meighen Island)[1] |
| Archipelago | Sverdrup Islands[2] Queen Elizabeth Islands Arctic Archipelago |
| Area | 955 km2 (369 sq mi) |
| Length | 56 km (34.8 mi) |
| Width | 30 km (19 mi) |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Meighen Island is an uninhabited member of theQueen Elizabeth Islands, part of theArctic Archipelago, in theQikiqtaaluk Region ofNunavut, Canada.
Located at79°59′N099°30′W / 79.983°N 99.500°W /79.983; -99.500 (Meighen Island)[1], it measures 955 km2 (369 sq mi) in size and is topped with anice cap. The island is permanently icebound, and its northwestern coast faces onto the openArctic Ocean.
Unlike many Canadian Arctic islands, no traces ofInuit orThule camps have been found, suggesting the island has never been inhabited, likely due to its extreme northern latitude.
In 1909, two Inuit who had participated inFrederick Cook's polar expedition provided a map toRobert Peary that showed they had travelled and spent a night on a then unknown island with the position of Meighen Island. The map and testimony of the Inuit in question were published in an article by Peary in theChicago Daily Tribune.[3] In 1916,Vilhjalmur Stefansson'sCanadian Arctic Expedition sighted and landed on Meighen Island.[3] Stefansson at first believed that he had been the first European to discover Meighen Island, but later read Peary's article on the Cook expedition and surmised that Cook had in fact discovered Meighen Island prior to himself.[3]
The island was later named afterArthur Meighen, Canadian prime minister 1920-21 and 1926.
Meighen Island has few neighbours. It is about 40 km (25 mi) west of the next nearest major island,Axel Heiberg Island. About 4 km (2.5 mi) to Meighen's north, across the Hose Strait, lies small crescent-shaped Perley Island. TheFay Islands lie between Meighen Island and Axel Heiberg Island within theSverdrup Channel.
The island has a automatic weather station near the center of the ice cap. The ice cap is also has many mass balance polls.[4]
| International | |
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| National | |
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