Ward Hunt Island

Ward Hunt Island

Ward Hunt Island is a small island in the Arctic Ocean, off the north coast of Ellesmere Island. Its northern cape, at coord|83|05|48|N|74|16|00|W|, is one of the northernmost points of land in Canada. The island is 6.5 km long, east to west, and 3 km wide. It was discovered in 1876 by Pelham Aldrich, a lieutenant with the George Nares expedition, and named for George Ward Hunt, First Lord of the Admiralty (1874-1877).

Ward Hunt Island was briefly used as a weather station during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, and since then it has been used as the starting point for a number of attempts to reach the North Pole, beginning with Ralph Plaisted in 1968. There is an airstrip and a building on the north shore; each is likely the northernmost facility of its kind in the world.

On July 29 2008, a giant chunk of ice broke away from the shelf on Ward Hunt Island. It was the largest fracture of its kind since the nearby Ayles ice shelf -- which measured 25 square miles -- broke away in 2005.

References

*cite book
last = Nares
first = George
authorlink = George Nares
title = Narrative of A Voyage to the Polar Sea in H.M. Ships 'Alert' and 'Discovery'
year = 1878
publisher = Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington
location = London


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