Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Foxe Basin |
Coordinates | 67°47′N 76°12′W / 67.783°N 76.200°W[1] |
Area | 9,521 km2 (3,676 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 73 m (240 ft) |
Administration | |
Canada | |
Territory | Nunavut |
Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
Demographics | |
Population | Uninhabited |
Prince Charles Island is a large, low-lying island in Canada. With an area of 9,521 km2 (3,676 sq mi), it is the world's 77th largest island and the 19th largest island in Canada. It is located in Foxe Basin, off the west coast of Baffin Island, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Though Prince Charles Island has no permanent residents, Inuit visited the island to hunt caribou;[2] the island has no specific name in the Inuktitut language.[3] Despite the island's size, it was not recorded by Western cartographers until 1932, when the tug captain W. A. Poole first sighted it. His information never made it onto any published map.[4] It was rediscovered in 1948 by Albert-Ernest Tomkinson navigating an Avro Lancaster for the RCAF 408 (Photo) Squadron.[4] The island was named for British Prince Charles (later King Charles III), who was born in November the same year.[citation needed]