Queen Elizabeth Islands
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The Queen Elizabeth Islands (approx. ; French: Îles de la Reine-Élisabeth; formerly known as the Parry Islands) are the northernmost cluster of Canadian arctic islands, lying in the Nunavut and Northwest Territories of Canada.
Many of the islands are among the largest in the world, the largest being Ellesmere Island. Other major islands include Amund Ringnes Island, Axel Heiberg Island, Bathurst Island, Borden Island, Cornwallis Island, Devon Island, Eglinton Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Melville Island, and Prince Patrick Island.
The islands, together more than 425 000 km² (164,000 square miles) in area, were named as a group after Elizabeth II on her coronation as Queen of Canada in 1953. Most are uninhabited, but their main industry is oil drilling.
First sighted by Europeans in 1616, the Queen Elizabeth Islands were not fully explored and charted until the British North West Passage expeditions and later Norwegian exploration of the 19th century. Many were explored by William Parry, after whom they were formerly named.
See also
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