Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'',

Inuktitut Inuktitut (; , syllabics ; from , "person" + , "like", "in the manner of"), also Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the tree line, including parts of the provinces o ...

''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

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'' ...

'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 ...

, 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 I ...

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

in 1999, the Boothia Peninsula and the nearby Melville Peninsula were the only parts of mainland Canada that belonged to the District of Franklin in the then

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 balance of the District of Franklin was all situated within the

Arctic Archipelago The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark). Situated in the northern extremity of No ...

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. 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.,

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only ...

s) 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 Sir John Ross, John Ross, and four led b ...

went overland and reached the north magnetic pole which was then on its western side. He also crossed west to

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 ...

. 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 Arct ...

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