The Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands, part of the Arctic Archipelago, are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island from 77° to 81° North and 85° to 106° West.

Sverdrup Islands
NASA Landsat photo of the Sverdrup Islands
From left to right: Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, and Axel Heiberg islands.
Sverdrup Islands is located in Nunavut
Sverdrup Islands
Sverdrup Islands
Sverdrup Islands is located in Canada
Sverdrup Islands
Sverdrup Islands
Geography
LocationArctic Ocean
Coordinates79°00′N 96°00′W / 79.000°N 96.000°W / 79.000; -96.000 (Sverdrup Islands)[1]
ArchipelagoQueen Elizabeth Islands,
Arctic Archipelago
Major islands
Area66,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi)
Highest elevation2,210 m (7250 ft)
Highest pointOutlook Peak
Administration
Canada
TerritoryNunavut
RegionQikiqtaaluk
Capital cityMcGill Arctic Research Station
Demographics
Population8 to 12 summer population
Pop. density0.000015/km2 (3.9E-5/sq mi)

History

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The islands are named after Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vessel Fram, although Inuit previously inhabited some of them. Sverdrup claimed the islands for Norway, but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928. At that point, the Norwegian government raised the claim, primarily to use the islands as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United Kingdom over the status of two other islands: the Jan Mayen in the Arctic and Bouvet Island in the Antarctic. On 11 November 1930, Norway recognized Canadian sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands.[2] On 19 November 1930, the United Kingdom recognized Norwegian sovereignty over Jan Mayen.[3]

Geography

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The main islands of the group are Axel Heiberg Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Amund Ringnes Island, Cornwall Island,[citation needed] Graham Island,[citation needed] Meighen Island, King Christian Island, Stor Island, and the archipelago also includes a number of smaller islands in the surrounding waters. The only inhabited place was Isachsen, a formerly staffed weather station, 1948 through 1978, on Ellef Ringnes Island and McGill Arctic Research Station on Axel Heiberg Island (a research station occupied during the summer).

Main islands

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Island Peak Height
m
Area
km2
Rank
Canada
Rank
World
Axel Heiberg Outlook Peak 2,211 43,178 7 32
Ellef Ringnes Isachsen Dome 260 11,295 16 69
Amund Ringnes ... 265 5,255 25 111
Meighen Meighen Icecap 300 955 50 337
King Christian King Christian Mountain 165 645 60 420
Stor ... 500 313 87 ...
Sverdrup Outlook Peak 2,211 66,000 - -

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Sverdrup Islands". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ Berton, Pierre. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole. Toronto: Random House of Canada Ltd., 1988, p. 629.
  3. ^ "Norsk polarhelt ville bli hemmelig agent" from aftenposten.no, 19 April 2007, in Norwegian
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