Sverdrup Islands

For the island in the Kara Sea called "Sverdrup Island", see Sverdrup Island (Kara Sea).

Sverdrup Islands

NASA Landsat photo of the Sverdrup Islands From left to right: Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, and Axel Heiberg islands.
Geography
Location	Arctic Ocean
Coordinates
Archipelago	Queen Elizabeth Islands Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Major islands	Axel Heiberg, Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes
Area
Highest elevation	2,210 m (7,250 ft)
Highest point	Outlook Peak
Country
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	8 to 12 summer population
Density	0.000015 /km2 (3.9E-5 /sq mi)

The Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island at around 82° north and 95° 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 some were previously inhabited by Inuit people. 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 the other arctic islands Jan Mayen and Bouvet Island. On 11 November 1930, Norway recognized Canadian sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands. On 19 November 1930, the UK 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 habitated place was Isachsen, a formerly manned defense station, 1948 through 1978, on Ellef Ringnes Island and McGill Arctic Research Station on Axel Heiberg Island (a research station occupied on in the summetimes).

Main Islands

Island	Peak	Height m	Area km²	Area m²	Rank Canada	Rank World
Axel Heiberg	Outlook Peak	2,211	43,178	16,671	32
Ellef Ringnes	...	260	11,295	4,361	69
Amund Ringnes	...	265	5,255	2,039	111
Meighen	...	300	955	369	337
King Christian	King Christian Mountain	165	645	249	420
Stor	...	500	313	121	...
all Sverdrup Islands	Outlook Peak	2,211	66,000	25,000	-

See also

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

External links

• University of Guelph Ringnes Islands
• Nunatsiaq News - Canada secures High Arctic sovereignty
• Official site of the Fram Museum (Frammuseet)