McClure Strait

Encyclopedia : M : MC : MCC : McClure Strait

The McClure Strait (sometimes rendered M'Clure Strait) is a strait on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories. It forms the western end of the Northwest Passage.

The strait connects the Beaufort Sea in the west with Viscount Melville Sound in the east. It is bounded by Prince Patrick Island, Eglinton Island and Melville Island on the north and Banks Island on the south. As the strait is chronically blocked with thick ice, it is usually impassible to ships; in 1969, the United States-registered tanker SS Manhattan was freed from the ice by a Canadian icebreaker, and forced to travel through Canadian territorial waters to complete its westward passage. There is a dispute between Canada and the United States over the waters of the Arctic Islands, other than those within 12 miles of shore.

The strait was named for Robert McClure, a British arctic explorer.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.