Cornwall Island (Nunavut)

For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with the nearby Cornwallis Island.

Cornwall Island

NASA Landsat photo of Cornwall Island
Cornwall Island, Nunavut
Geography
Location	Northern Canada
Coordinates	77°37′N 094°38′W
Archipelago	Queen Elizabeth Islands Arctic Archipelago
Area	2,358 km2 (910 sq mi)
Length	90 km (56 mi)
Width	30 km (19 mi)
Highest elevation	400 m (1300 ft)
Highest point	McLeod Head
Administration
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Cornwall Island is a small, uninhabited island in the high Arctic region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is near the geometric centre of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. To the north, it is separated from Amund Ringnes Island by Hendriksen Strait. To the south, it is separated from Devon Island by Belcher Channel. It is the largest of six islands (the others being Buckingham, Ekins, Exmouth, Graham Island, and Table) in Norwegian Bay, west of Ellesmere Island.

Cornwall Island measures about 90 km (56 mi) long and 30 km (19 mi) wide, and has an area of 2,358 km² (910 sq mi).

The tallest peaks are McLeod Head at 400 m (1,300 ft), and Mount Nicolay at 290 m (950 ft), both on the north coast. Coast features include Northeast Point and Gordon Head to the east; Pell Point and Cape O'Brien to the south; and Cape Butler in the southwest.

The first known European sighting of the island was by Sir Edward Belcher on 30 August 1852, and was named in honour of Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.

Image gallery

• 
  Closeup of Cornwall Island

Further reading

• Hambley, Gregory, and Scott Lamoureux. 2006. "Recent Summer Climate Recorded in Complex Varved Sediments, Nicolay Lake, Cornwall Island, Nunavut, Canada". Journal of Paleolimnology. 35, no. 3: 629–640.
• Lamoureux, Scott. 1999. "Catchment and Lake Controls Over the Formation of Varves in Monomictic Nicolay Lake, Cornwall Island, Nunavut". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 36: 1533–1546.