 Walker Hill (439 m (1,440 ft)) on Ward Hunt Island | |
 | |
  Ward Hunt Island  Ward Hunt Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Northern Canada |
| Coordinates | 83°06′N074°10′W / 83.100°N 74.167°W /83.100; -74.167 (Ward Hunt Island)[1] |
| Archipelago | Queen Elizabeth Islands |
| Area | 13.9 km2 (5.4 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 415 m (1362 ft) |
| Highest point | Walker Hill |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Ward Hunt Island is a small, uninhabited island in theArctic Ocean, located off the north coast ofEllesmere Island near theWard Hunt Ice Shelf. The island is located just 750 km (470 mi) from the geographicalNorth Pole. The northern cape of Ward Hunt Island is one of the northernmost elements of land in Canada. Only a 17 km (11 mi) stretch of northern coast ofEllesmere Island aroundCape Columbia is more northerly. The island is 5.0 km (3.1 mi) long, east to west, and 3.0 km (1.9 mi) wide. The first known sighting was in 1876 byPelham Aldrich, a lieutenant with theGeorge Nares expedition, and named forGeorge Ward Hunt, who wasFirst Lord of the Admiralty at the time (1874–1877). Today, the Island is part of theQuttinirpaaq National Park.
Due to its location, the island has been used as the starting point for a number of attempts to reach theNorth Pole, e.g.Ralph Plaisted and others. During theInternational Geophysical Year of 1957–58, it was briefly used as a meteorological station. In 1959 theCanadian Defence Research Board established a research station on the island which remained in operation until the late 1960s. There is an airstrip forSTOL aircraft, primarilyTwin Otter, on the north coast of the island. Nearby are a few old shelters from the former Ward Hunt Island Camp station, now operated byParks Canada.
In July 1988, a team ofgeodesists from theKarlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT Karlsruhe) and geographers from theUniversity of Giessen carried out an accurate geodetical and geomorphological survey of the island and the Ice Shelf. This enabled the compilation of the first topographic map at the scale 1: 25,000 and an additional geomorphological map (scale 1:12,500).
Since 1998, a modern research station owned and operated by theCentre d'Études Nordiques (CEN: Centre for northern studies) ofLaval University, Quebec and Parks Canada also exists on the north coast with an automatic climatic station open all year round.[2][3] In addition to accommodation, the CEN base camp also has a small laboratory for the multidisciplinary fieldwork carried out during the three summer months. The data obtained on the climate, flora and fauna cover a period of more than 20 years and have been accessible since the beginning of the measurements.
This region at the northern land limit of the Canadian Arctic is currently undergoing major environmental changes. On 29 July 2008, a giant chunk of ice broke away from theWard Hunt Ice Shelf. The new ice island had an area of 35.9 km2 (13.9 sq mi). It was the largest fracture of its kind since the nearbyAyles Ice Shelf—which measured 66 km2 (25 sq mi)—broke away in 2005.[4]
In July 2016, a team of scientists with theCanadian Armed Forces while conducting a site visit ofEureka,Tanquary Fiord, and Ward Hunt Island found a cairn erected in 1975 by thenPrime Minister,Pierre Trudeau, who had been accompanied by two of his sons,Justin andAlexandre Trudeau. A picture of the plaque was presented to current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau byDefence MinisterHarjit Sajjan on behalf of the Canadian Armed Forces.[5]
The CEN Ward Hunt Island Research Station is co-owned and operated by the Centre d'études nordiques (CEN: Centre for Northern Studies; ...) and Parks Canada (...).
