King William Island

Infobox Islands
name = King William Island

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image caption = NASA Landsat satellite image of King William Island
image size =
locator

map_custom =
native name = Qikiqtaq
native name link = Inuktitut
nickname =
location = Northern Canada
coordinates = coord|68|58|N|97|14|W|display=inline,title
archipelago = Canadian Arctic Archipelago
total islands =
major islands =
area = convert|12516|-|13111|km2|sqmi|abbr=on
rank = 61st
highest mount =
elevation =
country = Canada
country admin divisions title = Territory
country admin divisions = flag|Nunavut
country largest city = Gjoa Haven
country largest city population = 1,064
country leader title =
country leader name =
population = 1,064
population as of = 2006
density =
ethnic groups = Inuit
additional info =

King William Island ("Qikiqtaq") [cite web |url=http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:7q7r-XhkrukJ:assets.panda.org/downloads/final_1_report_envirochange_polar_bears_and_adaptation.pdf+%22chantrey+inlet%22+%22king+william+island%22+map&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=12&gl=us |title=Environmental Change, Polar Bears and Adaptation in the East Kitikmeot: An Initial Assessment Final Report |author=Darren Keith, Jerry Arqviq |date=November 23, 2006 |publisher=Kitikmeot Heritage Society |accessdate=2008-01-23] is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and forms part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In area it is between convert|12516|km2|sqmi|abbr=on [ [http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map?mapsize=428%20380&lat=69.1666999998&long=-97.4166999976&mapxy=-91559.336724+2200001.06889&scale=5000000&feature_na=King+William+Island&location1=62&unique_key=0cb11139849c20c341b8599662151469&searchstring=King%20William%20Island&entity=ISL&layers=fapfeature+fapfeature%20north_arrow%20other_features%20million_grid%20t50k_grid%20grid_50k_3%20roads%20hydrography%20boundary%20builtup%20vegetation%20populated_places%20railway%20power_network%20manmade_features%20designated_areas%20water_features%20water_saturated_soils%20relief%20contours%20toponymy%20contour%20nodata_ntdb_50k&urlappend=%26unique_key%3D0cb11139849c20c341b8599662151469%26map.layer%5Btextzoom03%5D%3DFEATURE+POINTS+-93371.1537808+2197883.42683+END+TEXT+%22King%2BWilliam%2BIsland%22+END%26map.layer%5Btextzoom46%5D%3DFEATURE+POINTS+-93371.1537808+2197883.42683+END+TEXT+%22King%2BWilliam%2BIsland%22+END%26map.layer%5Bpolygonresultzoom0%5D%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Bpolygonresultzoom1%5D%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Bpolygonresultzoom2%5D%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Bpolygonresultzoom0outline%5D%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Bpolygonresultzoom1outline%5D%3DDATA+fap_islands%26map.layer%5Bpolygonresultzoom2outline%5D%3DDATA+fap_islands King William Island] at the Atlas of Canada] and convert|13111|km2|sqmi|abbr=on [ [http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html#artic Other Arctic Islands] at the Atlas of Canada] making it the 61st largest island in the world and Canada's 15th largest island. Its population, as of the 2006 census, was 1,064, [ [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6208081&Geo2=PR&Code2=62&Data=Count&SearchText=Gjoa%20Haven&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=6208081 2006 census] ] all of which live in the island's only community Gjoa Haven.

To the east it is separated from the Boothia Peninsula by the James Ross Strait and the Rae Strait. To the west is the Victoria Strait and beyond it Victoria Island. Within the Simpson Strait is Todd Island, and beyond it to the south is the Adelaide Peninsula, and the Queen Maud Gulf lies to the southwest.

Victory Point is on its north coast. Gore Point, Point Le Vesconte, Erebus Bay and Terror Bay are on the west coast. Douglas Bay, Booth Point, and Gjoa Haven are on the south coast. [Page 2 fig. 1 in Keenleyside, A., M. Bertulli, and H. C. Fricke. 1997. " [http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic50-1-36.pdf The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence] ". "Arctic". 50, no. 1: 36.]

The island, long occupied by Inuit people, was originally named 'King William Land' for the reigning British King William IV in 1830 by John Ross, who thought it was a peninsula. A number of other polar explorers, while searching for the Northwest Passage, had spent their winters at King William Island. John Franklin's expedition was stranded in the sea ice northwest of the island. After the ships were abandoned, most of the crew gradually perished from exposure and starvation as they attempted to walk south near the western coastline. Two of Franklin's men are buried at Hall Point on the island's south coast. The island is known for its large populations of caribou who summer there, before walking south over the sea ice in the autumn.

In 1903, explorer Roald Amundsen, looking for the Northwest Passage, sailed through the James Ross Strait and stopped at a natural harbour on the island's south coast. There, unable to proceed due to sea ice, he spent the winters of 1903-4 and 1904-5. There he learned the Arctic living skills from the local Netsilik Inuit that were later to be invaluable in his expedition to the South Pole. He used his ship Gjøa as a base for explorations in the summer of 1904, sledding the Boothia Peninsula and travelling to the North Magnetic Pole. Amundsen finally left, after 22 months on the island, in August 1905. The harbour where he lived is now the island's only settlement, Gjoa Haven.

References

* "The Last Place on Earth", Roland Huntford, ISBN 0-349-11395-5

Further reading

* Fraser, J. Keith. "Notes on the Glaciation of King William Island and Adelaide Peninsula, N.W.T". Ottawa: Geographical Branch, Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys, 1959.
* Taylor, J. Garth. "Netsilik Eskimo Material Culture. The Roald Amundsen Collection from King William Island". Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1974. ISBN 8200089452
* Woodworth-Lynas, C. M. T. "Surveying and Trenching an Iceberg Scour, King William Island, Arctic Canada". St. John's: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Centre for Cold Ocean Resources Engineering, 1985.