Rae Strait is a small
strait in the
Kitikmeot Region
Kitikmeot Region (; Inuktitut: ''Qitirmiut'' ) is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together w ...
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'' ...
, Canada. It is located between
King William Island and the
Boothia Peninsula on the mainland to the east. It is named after Scottish
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 ...
explorer
John Rae who, in 1854, was the first European to visit the area while mapping the northern coast of North America.
At the time, King William Island was called King William Land, since it was thought to be adjoined to Boothia. On May 6, 1854, Rae and his two travelling companions reached a promontory on the western coast of Boothia which allowed them to look far west, at which point they realized King William Island was separated from the mainland. Said island protects the strait from the excessive flow of
pack ice from the north, making its waters navigable for 19th-century ships.
This proved to be of vital importance for the eventual completion 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 ...
by
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amu ...
in 1903–06, since the Norwegian sailed through Rae Strait, wintering at
Gjoa Haven
Gjoa Haven (; Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq, syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ , meaning "lots of fat", referring to the abundance of sea mammals in the nearby waters; or �ʒɔa evən is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle, located in the ...
on the southeastern tip of King William Island, then sailed along the
Arctic coast into the
Beaufort Sea.
References
Straits of Kitikmeot Region
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