Buckingham Island

Buckingham Island
Satellite picture of Buckingham among other islands
Buckingham Island is located in Nunavut
Buckingham Island
Buckingham Island
Buckingham Island is located in Canada
Buckingham Island
Buckingham Island
Geography
LocationNorthern Canada
Coordinates77°12′N 91°00′W / 77.200°N 91.000°W / 77.200; -91.000 (Buckingham Island)
ArchipelagoQueen Elizabeth Islands
Arctic Archipelago
Area137 km2 (53 sq mi)
Length14 km (8.7 mi)
Width10 km (6 mi)
Highest elevation150 m (490 ft)
Highest pointMount Windsor
Administration
Canada
TerritoryNunavut
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

Buckingham Island is a Canadian arctic island located in Norwegian Bay in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The island lies immediately southwest of Graham Island and 50 km (31 mi) east of Cornwall Island. Buckingham Island is 10 km (6.2 mi) wide and has an area of 137 km2 (53 sq mi).[1] It is a part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

Its highest peak is named Mount Windsor. Both the peak and the island itself are named after royal palaces.[2] Capt. Edward Belcher, searching for John Franklin in 1852–1854, described the island's surrounds: [3][4]

"The heavy, even solid nature of the floe surrounding, or, where 'nipped,' the almost berg-like lumps that protruded, afforded a fair inference that the sea is seldom seriously disturbed in these latitudes : on the other hand, if we take into consideration the exuviae of whales and other animals, found at every elevation, even to the summits of hills above 800 feet; the extraordinary wear or abrasion of the outlines, which nothing we have experienced could effect, it almost leads one to imagine that nature at some moment, possibly past and for ever, fatally perhaps for those we seek, has piled up layer over layer to effect what otherwise nothing but a recent deluge could account for."(Belcher, 1855)

  1. ^ "Cornwall, Graham, Buckingham, Table, Exmouth, and Ekins Islands". uoguelph.ca. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  2. ^ "Graham Island". oceandots.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  3. ^ Belcher, E.; Richardson, J.; Owen, R.; Bell, T.; Salter, J. W.; Reeve, L. (1855). The last of the Arctic voyages being a narrative of the expedition in H.M.S. Assistance, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., in search of Sir John Franklin, during the years 1852-53-54. London: L. Reeve. pp. 309–311. OCLC 13850803. Buckingham Island.
  4. ^ "SIR EDWARD BELCHER'S DESPATCHES. 335". navalhistory31.googlepages.com. Retrieved 2008-04-10.