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Meighen Island is an uninhabited member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, part of the Arctic Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada.

Meighen Island

Meighen Island, Nunavut
Meighen Island Show map of Nunavut Meighen Island Show map of Canada
Geography
Location	Arctic Ocean
Coordinates	79°59′N 099°30′W[1]
Archipelago	Sverdrup Islands[2] Queen Elizabeth Islands Arctic Archipelago
Area	955 km2 (369 sq mi)
Length	56 km (34.8 mi)
Width	30 km (19 mi)
Administration
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Features and history

Located at 79°59′N 099°30′W[1], it measures 955 km² (369 sq mi) in size and is topped with an ice cap. The island is permanently icebound, and its northwestern coast faces onto the open Arctic Ocean.

Unlike many Canadian Arctic islands, no traces of Inuit or Thule camps have been found, suggesting the island has never been inhabited, likely due to its extreme northern latitude.

In 1909, two Inuit who had participated in Frederick Cook's polar expedition provided a map to Robert Peary that showed they had travelled and spent a night on a then unknown island with the position of Meighen Island. The map and testimony of the Inuit in question were published in an article by Peary in the Chicago Daily Tribune.[3] In 1916, Vilhjalmur Stefansson's Canadian Arctic Expedition sighted and landed on Meighen Island.[3] Stefansson at first believed that he had been the first European to discover Meighen Island, but later read Peary's article on the Cook expedition and surmised that Cook had in fact discovered Meighen Island prior to himself,[3]

Naming

The island was later named after Arthur Meighen, Canadian prime minister 1920-21 and 1926.

Neighbouring islands

Meighen Island has few neighbours. It is about 40 km (25 mi) west of the next nearest major island, Axel Heiberg Island. About 4 km (2.5 mi) to Meighen's north, across the Hose Strait, lies small crescent-shaped Perley Island. The Fay Islands lie between Meighen Island and Axel Heiberg Island within the Sverdrup Channel.

References

Bibliography

• Mills, William James (2003). Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia. ISBN 9781576074220.

External links

• Meighen Island in the Atlas of Canada - Toporama; Natural Resources Canada

На других языках

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[de] Meighen Island

Meighen Island ist eine Insel im kanadischen Territorium Nunavut und gehört zu den Königin-Elisabeth-Inseln.

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- [en] Meighen Island

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[es] Isla Meighen

Isla Meighen es una isla pequeña, aislada y deshabitada del archipiélago ártico canadiense, perteneciente al territorio autónomo de Nunavut, en Canadá.

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[fr] Île Meighen

Lîle Meighen est une île inhabitée des îles de la Reine-Élisabeth dans l'archipel arctique canadien dans la région de Qikiqtaaluk au Nunavut au Canada.

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[it] Isola Meighen

L'isola Meighen è un'isola disabitata del territorio di Nunavut, in Canada.

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[ru] Миен (остров)

Миен (англ. Meighen Island) — остров Канадского Арктического архипелага. Также входит в группу Острова Королевы Елизаветы и в группу Острова Свердруп[1]. В настоящее время остров необитаем (2012).

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