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Cornwall Island (Nunavut)

For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the nearby Cornwallis Island.

Cornwall Island
NASA Landsat photo of Cornwall Island
Cornwall Island, Nunavut
Geography
LocationNorthern Canada
Coordinates77°37′N 094°38′W / 77.617°N 94.633°W / 77.617; -94.633 (Cornwall Island)[1]
ArchipelagoQueen Elizabeth Islands
Arctic Archipelago
Area2,358 km2 (910 sq mi)
Length90 km (56 mi)
Width30 km (19 mi)
Highest elevation400 m (1300 ft)
Highest pointMcLeod Head
Administration
Canada
TerritoryNunavut
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

Cornwall Island is a small, uninhabited island in the high Arctic region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is near the geometric centre of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. To the north, it is separated from Amund Ringnes Island by Hendriksen Strait. To the south, it is separated from Devon Island by Belcher Channel. It is the largest of six islands (the others being Buckingham, Ekins, Exmouth, Graham Island, and Table) in Norwegian Bay, west of Ellesmere Island.

Cornwall Island measures about 90 km (56 mi) long and 30 km (19 mi) wide, and has an area of 2,358 km2 (910 sq mi).

The tallest peaks are McLeod Head at 400 m (1,300 ft), and Mount Nicolay at 290 m (950 ft), both on the north coast. Coast features include Northeast Point and Gordon Head to the east; Pell Point and Cape O'Brien to the south; and Cape Butler in the southwest.[2]

The first known European sighting of the island was by Sir Edward Belcher on 30 August 1852, and was named in honour of Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.[3]

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References

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  1. ^ "Cornwall Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ "Cornwall, Graham, Buckingham, Table, Exmouth, and Ekins Islands". uoguelph.ca. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  3. ^ Mills, William James (2003). Exploring Polar Frontiers:A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0.

Further reading

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  • Hambley, Gregory, and Scott Lamoureux. 2006. "Recent Summer Climate Recorded in Complex Varved Sediments, Nicolay Lake, Cornwall Island, Nunavut, Canada". Journal of Paleolimnology. 35, no. 3: 629–640.
  • Lamoureux, Scott. 1999. "Catchment and Lake Controls Over the Formation of Varves in Monomictic Nicolay Lake, Cornwall Island, Nunavut". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 36: 1533–1546.