Prince Charles Island

Prince Charles Island

NASA Landsat image of Prince Charles Island
File:Prince Charles Island.svg
Geography
Location	Foxe Basin
Coordinates
Area
Highest elevation	73 m (240 ft)
Country
Canada
Nunavut	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Prince Charles Island is a large, low-lying island with an area of 9,521 km² (3,676 sq mi), making it the world's 78th largest island and the 19th largest island in Canada. It is located in Foxe Basin, off the west coast of Baffin Island, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Despite the island's size, it wasn't discovered until 1932, when the tug captain W. A. Poole first sighted it. His information never made it onto any published map. It was rediscovered in 1948 by Albert-Ernest Tomkinson navigating an Avro Lancaster for the RCAF 408 (Photo) Squadron, though it was likely known to the local Inuit long before that. The island was named for Prince Charles, who was born the same year. The island is uninhabited and its temperatures are extremely cold.

References

• Sea islands: Atlas of Canada; Natural Resources Canada

Further reading

• Morrison, R. I. G. 1997. "The Use of Remote Sensing to Evaluate Shorebird Habitats and Populations on Prince Charles Island, Foxe Basin, Canada". Arctic. 50, no. 1: 55.