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Sverdrup Islands

NASA Landsat photo of the Sverdrup Islands From left to right: Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, and Axel Heiberg islands.
Sverdrup IslandsShow map of NunavutSverdrup IslandsShow map of Canada
Geography
Location	Arctic Ocean
Coordinates	79°00′N 96°00′W / 79.000°N 96.000°W / 79.000; -96.000 (Sverdrup Islands)
Archipelago	Queen Elizabeth Islands, Arctic Archipelago
Major islands	Axel Heiberg Ellef Ringnes Amund Ringnes
Area	66,000 km (25,000 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2,210 m (7250 ft)
Highest point	Outlook Peak
Administration
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Capital city	McGill Arctic Research Station
Demographics
Population	8 to 12 summer population
Pop. density	0.000015/km (3.9E-5/sq mi)

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.

History

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. On 19 November 1930, the United Kingdom recognized Norwegian sovereignty over Jan Mayen.

Geography

The main islands of the group are Axel Heiberg Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Amund Ringnes Island, Cornwall Island, Graham Island, 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

See also

• Former colonies and territories in Canada
• Territorial evolution of Canada after 1867

References

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

External links

• University of Guelph Ringnes Islands Archived 2013-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Nunatsiaq News - Canada secures High Arctic sovereignty
• Official site of the Fram Museum (Frammuseet)

• Sverdrup Islands
• Archipelagoes of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
• Former Norwegian colonies
• Uninhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region
• Queen Elizabeth Islands