The Sverdrup Islands are an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands, part of the Arctic Archipelago, are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island from 77° to 81° North and 85° to 106° West.
History The islands are named after Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vessel Fram, although Inuit previously inhabited some of them. Sverdrup claimed the islands for Norway, but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928. At that point, the Norwegian government raised the claim, primarily to use the islands as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United Kingdom over the status of two other islands: the Jan Mayen in the Arctic and Bouvet Island in the Antarctic. On 11 November 1930, Norway recognized Canadian sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands.Berton, Pierre. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole. Toronto: Random House of Canada Ltd., 1988, p. 629. On 19 November 1930, the United Kingdom recognized Norwegian sovereignty over Jan Mayen."Norsk polarhelt ville bli hemmelig agent" from aftenposten.no, 19 April 2007, in Norwegian
Geography The main islands of the group are Axel Heiberg Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Amund Ringnes Island, Cornwall Island, Graham Island, Meighen Island, King Christian Island, Stor Island, and the archipelago also includes a number of smaller islands in the surrounding waters. The only inhabited place was Isachsen, a formerly staffed weather station, 1948 through 1978, on Ellef Ringnes Island and McGill Arctic Research Station on Axel Heiberg Island (a research station since 1959 occupied during the summer).
Main islands Island Peak Heightm Areakm2 RankCanada RankWorldAxel HeibergOutlook Peak2,21143,178732Ellef RingnesIsachsen Dome26011,295 1669Amund Ringnes...2655,255 25111MeighenMeighen Icecap300955 50337King ChristianKing Christian Mountain165645 60420Stor...500313 87...SverdrupOutlook Peak2,21166,000 - -
See also
Former colonies and territories in Canada Territorial evolution of Canada after 1867
References
External links University of Guelph Ringnes Islands Nunatsiaq News - Canada secures High Arctic sovereignty Official site of the Fram Museum (Frammuseet)