The District of Franklin was a regional administrative district of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. The district consisted of the Canadian high Arctic Islands, notably Ellesmere Island,

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

, and

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it is ...

. The district also contained the mainland Melville Peninsula and Boothia Peninsula. English navigators Martin Frobisher and

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

were the first Europeans known to have visited the area (although Viking sailors, coming from Greenland, may have made occasional landings and hunting treks on Baffin Island in the 11th and 12th centuries). The area was transferred from British colonial authority to the Dominion of Canada in 1894 and named after Sir John Franklin in the following year; however, the northernmost islands were claimed by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

until the year 1930. Along with the

District of Keewatin The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1876 by the ''Keewatin Act'', and originally it covered a large area west of Hudson Bay. In 1905, it became a ...

and the District of Mackenzie, it was one of the three districts of the old Northwest Territories before the formation of

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

in 1999, at which point the district ceased to exist, although as an administrative district of the NWT it had ceased to function several years prior to the splitting off of Nunavut. The area of the former District of Franklin was divided between the remaining portion of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In the process, Victoria Island was divided with approximately two-thirds of its area falling in Nunavut, and several other islands were also divided between the two territories.

* Balkwill, H. R. ''Geology of Amund Ringnes, Cornwall, and Haig-Thomas Islands, District of Franklin''. Ottawa, Ont., Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, 1983. * Balkwill, H. R., W. S. Hopkins, and J. H. Wall. ''Geology of Lougheed Island and Nearby Small Islands, District of Franklin (Parts of 69C, 79D)''. Ottawa, Canada: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1982. * Geological Survey of Canada, R. L. Christie, H. P. Trettin, and U. Mayr. ''Lady Franklin Bay, District of Franklin, Northwest Territories''. Open file (Geological Survey of Canada), 2136. 1984. * Dyke, Arthur S., John T. Andrews, and Gifford H. Miller. ''Quaternary Geology of Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, District of Franklin''. Ottawa, Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, 1982. * Geological Survey of Canada, A. F. Embry, H. P. Trettin, and U. Mayr. ''Tanquary Fiord, District of Franklin, Northwest Territories''. Open file (Geological Survey of Canada), 2135. 1988. {{coord missing, Northwest Territories Districts of the Northwest Territories Baffin Island

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