Lowther Island

Lowther Island lies within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is one of the mid-channel islands in the western sector of Barrow Strait.[1] Bathurst Island and Cornwallis Island are to the north, while Prince of Wales Island is to the south.[2] The island is clustered within a group of uninhabited islands. It is 15.5 mi (24.9 km) northeast of Young Island, separated by the Kettle Passage, a shipping route, and 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Garrett Island, separated by Hayes Channel.

Lowther Island
Lowther Island
Lowther Island
Geography
LocationNorthern Canada
Coordinates74°33′N 097°30′W
ArchipelagoQueen Elizabeth Islands
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Area145 km2 (56 sq mi)
Administration
Canada
TerritoryNunavut
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

Lowther Island is 17 mi (27 km) long, 2–6 mi (3.2–9.7 km) wide,[3] and 145 km2 (56 sq mi). It is rimmed by raised beaches, the highest being at 106.5 m (349 ft). above sea level. Gourdeau Point is on the island's south side, and Lowther Shoal is to the south/southeast.[4]

History

The first European to sight the island was William Edward Parry in 1819.[5] It is named after a relative of Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale (who visited Lowther Island himself), that worked for the Hudson's Bay Company.[6]

In August 1852, ÉMile-Frédéric de Bray, searching for Sir John Franklin, spent a week at Lowther Island and close-by Griffith Island.[7] The island was also visited by Francis Leopold McClintock as part of Capt. Henry Kellett's 1852 to 1854 expedition.[8]

References
  1. Bourne, Charles B. (1963). Canadian Yearbook of International Law. Vancouver: Publication Centre, University of British Columbia. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7748-0127-0. OCLC 2442067.
  2. Pharand, Donat; Legault, L.H. (1984). The Northwest Passage: Arctic Straits. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 7. ISBN 90-247-2979-3.
  3. "Lowther Island". The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  4. Crawford, G.; Padman, L. (February 1997). "Physical Oceanographic Observations from the Resolute 1995 Ice Camp, Barrow Strait" (PDF). Oregon State University. pp. 39–40. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  5. Parry, William Edward (1821). Journal of a voyage for the discovery of a North-West passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific: performed in the years 1819-20. London: John Murray. William Edward Parry 1819.
  6. Birkenhead, Frederick E. (1977). Contemporary Personalities. Ayer Publishing. p. 229. ISBN 0-8369-0061-8.
  7. Bray, E. F. D.; Barr, W. (1992). A Frenchman in search of Franklin: de Bray's Arctic journal, 1852-1854. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 48–50. ISBN 0-8020-2813-6.
  8. Mowat, Farley (1973). Ordeal by ice; the search for the Northwest Passage (The Fate of Franklin)|format= requires |url= (help). Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd. p. 288. OCLC 1391959.

Further reading
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