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Bathurst Island

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There is also Bathurst Island off the coast of Australia.

Bathurst Island, Nunavut
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Bathurst Island, Nunavut

Satellite photo montage of Bathurst Island and its neighbours
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Satellite photo montage of Bathurst Island and its neighbours

Bathurst Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Territory, Canada. The area of the island is estimated at 16,042 km², making it the 54th largest island in the world and Canada's 13th largest island. It is uninhabited.

Bathurst Island was the site of Thule native tribes around 1000 AD, conceivably during a warmer climate episode. Bathurst Island became known to Western explorers through its discovery by Sir William Parry in 1819 and was named for Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1812-1827.

The island is low-lying with few parts higher than 330 m in elevation. Good soil conditions produce abundant vegetation and support a more prolific wildlife population than other arctic islands.

The island contains the Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area, and the area of the proposed Tuktusiuqvialuk National Park.

The Earth's North Magnetic Pole tracked northwards across Bathurst Island during the 1960s and 1970s.

 


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