Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'', Inuktitut ''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large peninsula in Nunavut's northern Canadian

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

, south of Somerset Island. The northern part, Murchison Promontory, is the northernmost point of mainland Canada.

Geography

Bellot Strait (Ikirahaq) separates the peninsula from Somerset Island to the north. Babbage Bay is on the east coast, as is Abernethy Bay, just to the south. The community of

Taloyoak Taloyoak or Talurjuaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᖅ ), formerly known as Spence Bay until 1 July 1992, although the body of water on which it is situated continues to be known as Spence Bay — same as the body of water on which Iq ...

lies in the far south and is the peninsula's only significant population centre. Paisley Bay is on the west coast, as is Wrottesley Inlet (between Paisley Bay and Bellot Strait). Prior to the detachment of Nunavut in 1999, the Boothia Peninsula and the nearby

Melville Peninsula Melville Peninsula is a large peninsula in the Canadian Arctic north of Hudson Bay. To the east is Foxe Basin and to the west the Gulf of Boothia. To the north the Fury and Hecla Strait separates it from Baffin Island. To the south Repulse B ...

were the only parts of mainland Canada that belonged to the District of Franklin in the then Northwest Territories. The balance of the District of Franklin was all situated within the Arctic Archipelago.

Exploration

John Ross was forced by ice to stop for four years at its easternmost point starting in 1829. He named it after his patron Sir

Felix Booth Sir Felix Booth, 1st Baronet, FRS (16 July 1780 Clerkenwell – 24 January 1850 Brighton, Sussex) was a wealthy British gin distiller, and promoter of Arctic exploration, with various places in Nunavut, Canada, being named after him. Life ...

. Ross encountered a large

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

community whom he described as living in "snow cottages" (i.e., igloos) and immortalized in Ross's painting ''North Hendon''. In 1831, his nephew

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edwa ...

went overland and reached the

north magnetic pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed t ...

which was then on its western side. He also crossed west to King William Island. Henry Larsen's second successful traverse of the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

passed through the Bellot Strait. Larsen deemed the strait too shallow for larger vessels and described how his vessel was almost crushed by ice floes when there was a change in the wind's direction. On his return voyage Larsen passed north of Somerset Island.

References

* Christie, Robert Loring. ''Three New Lower Paleozoic Formations of the Boothia Peninsula Region, Canadian Arctic Archipelago''. ttawa Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1973. * Dease, Peter Warren, and William Barr. From Barrow to Boothia The Arctic Journal of Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease, 1836–1839. upert's Land Record Society series, 7 Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002. * Dyke, Arthur S. ''Quaternary Geology of Boothia Peninsula and Northern District of Keewatin, Central Canadian Arctic''. Ottawa, Ont., Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, 1984. * Gunn, A., B. Fournier, and R. Morrison. ''Seasonal Movements and Distribution of Satellite-Collared Caribou Cows on the Boothia and Simpson Peninsula Areas, Northwest Territories, 1991-93''. Yellowknife, NWT: Dept. of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development, Govt. of the Northwest Territories, 2000. * Lawrence, M. J. ''A Survey of Aquatic Resources of the District of Keewatin and Boothia Peninsula''. Ottawa: Environmental-Social Program, Northern Pipelines, 1978. * Markham, Albert Hastings, and Sherard Osborn. ''A Whaling Cruise to Baffin's Bay and the Gulf of Boothia''. And an Account of the Rescue of the Crew of the "Polaris.". London: S. Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1875. * VanStone, James W., James E. Anderson, and C. F. Merbs. ''An Archaeological Collection from Somerset Island and Boothia Peninsula, N.W.T''. Toronto, 1962. * Zabenskie, Susan, and Konrad Gajewski. 2007. "Post-Glacial Climatic Change on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada". ''Quaternary Research''. 68, no. 2: 261. {{Authority control Peninsulas of Kitikmeot Region Former populated places in the Kitikmeot Region

Geography

Exploration

References

Further reading