Victoria Strait is a strait in northern Canada that lies in

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'' ...

off the mainland in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. It is between

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 ...

to the west and

King William Island King William Island (french: Île du Roi-Guillaume; previously: King William Land; iu, Qikiqtaq, script=Latn) is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, which is part of the Arctic Archipelago. In area it is between and making it the 6 ...

to the east. From the north, the strait links the

M'Clintock Channel M'Clintock Channel (also spelled McClintock Channel) is located in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. The channel, an arm of the Arctic Ocean, divides Victoria Island from Prince of Wales Island. This channel is named after Sir Francis McClintoc ...

and the

Larsen Sound Larsen Sound is an Arctic waterway in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located south of Prince of Wales Island, west of the Boothia Peninsula, north of King William Island and east of Gateshead Island. To the west and north-west the ...

with the

Queen Maud Gulf Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

to the south. The strait is about long and anywhere from wide. The strait is wide, with almost no islands, save for the rather large

Royal Geographical Society Island The Royal Geographical Society Islands (Inuinnaqtun: ''Hiurarjuaq''; "big sand") formerly the Royal Geographical Society Group are a group of islands lying west of King William Island in Victoria Strait, within the Queen Maud Gulf, in the north ...

near the Queen Maud Gulf at the extreme south of the strait. The strait has never been comprehensively surveyed, however, charted portions indicate several patches where the water is only deep. Ships drawing up to have navigated the strait, but it is made very difficult by the ice. Most of the year the strait is covered with rough, heavy ice. Much of this is polar ice which has flowed down the

from the

Viscount Melville Sound Viscount Melville Sound is an arm of the Arctic Ocean in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut and the Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. Forming part of the Parry Channel, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Qu ...

. Large-scale breakup of the ice in the strait begins by late July and continues into late September when it begins to freeze again.Legault, Leonard H; Pharand, Donat (October 1, 1984). ''The Northwest Passage: Arctic Straits''. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 13. . Near the entrance of Victoria Strait was where HMS ''Terror'' and HMS ''Erebus'' became trapped during

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

's expedition and were abandoned in 1848. Due to the hazards of the strait, a longer route was used which went around King William Island. This route was easier despite having an even shallower bottom.Griffiths, Franklyn (December 31, 1987). ''Politics of the Northwest Passage''. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 31. . In 1967, the Victoria Strait was used for the first time by an

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

, the CCGS ''John A. Macdonald'', when travelling to the western Arctic to assist shipping. It was crossed again by the same icebreaker in 1975, and later in 1976 by the icebreakers CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent'' and CCGS ''J.E. Bernier''.

Notes

{{Straits of Nunavut Straits of Kitikmeot Region Victoria Island (Canada) Franklin's lost expedition