View source for Ellesmere Island

{{short description|Island of the Arctic Archipelago in Nunavut, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Ellesmere Island
| image_name  = Ellesmere Island - River Beauty.jpg
| image_caption  = Tundra in [[Quttinirpaaq National Park]]
| image_size  =
| map_image = Ellesmere Island, Canada.svg
| map_caption =
| native_name = ''Umingmak Nuna''
| native_name_lang = iu-Latn
| native_name_link =Inuit languages
| nickname =
| location = Northern Canada
| pushpin_map             = Canada Nunavut#Canada
| pushpin_label           =
| pushpin_label_position  =
| pushpin_map_alt         =
| pushpin_relief          = 1
| pushpin_map_caption     =
| coordinates = {{coord|79|50|N|78|00|W|region:CA_type:isle_scale:8000000|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OAFCH|Ellesmere Island}}</ref>|display=inline,title|name=Ellesmere Island}}
| archipelago = [[Queen Elizabeth Islands]]
| total_islands  =
| major_islands  =
| area_km2 = 196236
| length_km = 830
| width_km = 645
| rank = 10th
| highest_mount  = [[Barbeau Peak]]
| elevation_m= 2616
| country = Canada
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
| country_admin_divisions       = [[Nunavut]]
| country_largest_city             = [[Grise Fiord]]
| country_largest_city_population  = 144
| area_code = [[Area code 867|867]]
| population       = 144
| population_as_of = 2021
| density_km2 = 0.00073
| ethnic_groups  =
| additional_info =
}}

'''Ellesmere Island''' ({{langx|iu|ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ ᓄᓇ|'''Umingmak Nuna'''|lit=land of [[muskox]]en}}; {{langx|fr|île d'Ellesmere}})<ref name="Dick"/><!--source does not cover non-Latin script--> is Canada's northernmost and [[List of Canadian islands by area|third largest island]], and the [[List of islands by area|tenth largest]] in the world. It comprises an area of {{cvt|196236|km2}},<ref name="area"/> slightly smaller than [[Great Britain]], and the total length of the island is {{cvt|830|km}}.

Lying within the [[Arctic Archipelago]], Ellesmere Island is considered part of the [[Queen Elizabeth Islands]]. [[Cape Columbia]] at {{coord|83|06|41|N|069|57|13|W|region:CA-NU_scale:2000000|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OADRA|Cape Columbia}}</ref>|name=Cape Columbia}} is the most northerly point of land in Canada and one of the most northern points of land on the planet (the [[most northerly point of land]] on Earth is the nearby [[Kaffeklubben Island]] of Greenland).

The [[Arctic Cordillera]] mountain system covers much of Ellesmere Island, making it the most mountainous in the Arctic Archipelago. More than one-fifth of the island is protected as [[Quttinirpaaq National Park]].

In 2021, the population of Ellesmere Island was recorded at 144.<ref name="2021census"/> There are three settlements: [[Alert, Nunavut|Alert]], [[Eureka, Nunavut|Eureka]], and [[Grise Fiord]]. Ellesmere Island is administered as part of the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]] in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian territory]] of [[Nunavut]].

==Geology==
<!--
Ellesmere Island lies on the [[Queen Elizabeth Islands Subplate]] of the [[North American Plate|North American tectonic plate]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
-->
Ellesmere Island has three major geological regions. The Grant Land Highlands is a large belt of fold mountains which dominate the northern face of the island. It is part of the Franklinian mobile belt, a zone of Cretaceous volcanic and intrusive rock. South of this is the Greely-Hazen Plateau, a large tableland composed of sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Covering most of the island, the coastal sedimentary plateau is a succession of highly eroded sedimentary peaks which are part of the Franklinian Shield with an extension of the [[Canadian Shield]] (Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks) in the island's southeastern corner. In addition, there are syntectonic clastics which comprise the [[Ellesmere Island Volcanics]] of the [[Sverdrup Basin Magmatic Province]].{{r|"Dick"|p=12–14}}

A period of uplift and faulting prior to the Pleistocene epoch (>2.6 [[MYA (unit)|Ma]]) established the overall features of the island. Additional uplift occurred due to [[isostatic rebound]] following the last glacial period. Land features were then shaped by erosion from glacial ice, meltwaters, and scouring by sea ice.{{r|"Dick"|p=12}}

==History==

It is believed that each of the pre-contact peoples who migrated through the High Arctic approached Ellesmere Island from the south and west. They were able to travel along Ellesmere's coasts or overland to Nares Strait, and some of them crossed the strait to populate Greenland.{{r|"Dick"|p=9–11}}

The archaeological record of past Arctic cultures is quite complete, as artefacts deteriorate very slowly. Items exposed to the cold, dry winds become naturally freeze-dried while items that become buried are preserved in the permafrost. Artefacts are in a similar condition to when they were left or lost, and settlements abandoned thousands of years ago can be seen much as they were the day their inhabitants left. From these sites and artefacts, archaeologists have been able to construct a history of these cultures.{{r|"McGhee1996"|p=8}} However, the research is incomplete and only a small proportion of the details of excavations have been published.{{r|"Gullason2004"|p=72}}

===Small tool cultures===

The [[Arctic small tool tradition]] peoples ({{a.k.a.}} [[Paleo-Eskimo]]s) in the High Arctic had small populations organized as hunting bands, spread from Axel Heiberg Island to the northern extremity of Greenland,{{r|"Dick"|p=49}} where the [[Independence&nbsp;I culture]] was active from 2700&nbsp;BCE.{{r|"Dick"|p=28}} On Ellesmere, they chiefly hunted in the Eureka Upland and the Hazen Plateau. Six different small-tool cultures have been identified at the [[Smith Sound]] region: Independence I, Independence I / [[Saqqaq culture|Saqqaq]], [[Pre-Dorset]], Saqqaq, early Dorset, and late Dorset.{{r|"Dick"|p=49}} They chiefly hunted [[Muskox|muskoxen]]: more than three-quarters of their known archeological sites on Ellesmere are located in the island's interior and their winter dwellings were skin tents, suggesting a need for mobility to follow the herds. There is evidence at Lake Hazen of a trade network {{circa|1500–1000&nbsp;BCE}}, including soapstone lamps from Greenland and incised lance heads from cultures to the south.{{r|"Dick"|p=50}}

===Thule culture===
[[File:Dorset, Norse, and Thule cultures 900-1500.svg|thumb|alt=Maps|Decline of the [[Dorset culture]] (brown) and expansion of the [[Thule people|Thule]] (green), {{circa|900–1500}}]]
The [[Thule people|Thule]] moved into the High Arctic at the time of a warming trend, c.&nbsp;1000&nbsp;CE.{{r|"Dick"|p=28}} Their major population centre was the Smith Sound area (on both the Ellesmere and Greenland sides) due to its proximity to [[polynyas]] and its position on transportation routes.{{r|"Dick"|p=54}} From settlements at Smith Sound, the Thule sent summer hunting parties to harvest [[marine mammal]]s in Nansen Strait. Their summer camps are evidenced by tent rings as far north as Archer Fiord, with clusters of stone dwellings around Lady Franklin Bay and at Lake Hazen which suggest semi-permanent occupations.{{r|"Dick"|p=28}}

The Thule genetically and culturally completely replaced the [[Dorset people]] some time after 1300 CE.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dorset DNA: Genes Trace the Tale of the Arctic's Long-Gone 'Hobbits' |date=28 August 2014 |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/dorset-dna-genes-trace-tale-arctics-long-gone-hobbits-n191156|publisher=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> The Thule displaced the small-tool cultures, having a number of technological advantages which notably included effective weapons, kayaks and umiaks for hunting marine mammals, and [[sled dog]]s for surface transport and pursuit.{{r|"Dick"|p=51}} The Thule also had an extensive trade network, evidenced by [[Cape York meteorite|meteoritic iron from Greenland]] which was exported through Ellesmere Island to the rest of the archipelago and to the North American mainland.{{r|"Dick"|p=52, 105}}

More than fifty [[Norsemen|Norse]] artefacts have been found in Thule archeological sites on the [[Bache Peninsula]], including pieces of chain mail. It is uncertain if Ellesmere Island was directly visited by [[Norse settlements in Greenland|Norse Greenlanders]] who sailed from the south or if the items were traded through a network of middlemen.{{r|"Dick"|p=54}} It is also possible the items may have been taken from a shipwreck.{{r|"Gullason2004"|p=46}} A bronze set of scales discovered in western Ellesmere Island has been interpreted as indicating the presence of a Norse trader in the region.{{r|"Dick"|p=62}} The Norse artefacts date from c.&nbsp;1250 to 1400&nbsp;CE.<ref name="Sutherland2000"/>

Between 1400 and 1600 CE, the [[Little Ice Age]] developed and conditions for hunting became increasingly difficult, forcing the Thule to withdraw from Ellesmere and the other northern islands of the archipelago.{{r|"Dick"|p=29}} The Thule who remained in northern Greenland became isolated, specialized at hunting a diminishing number of game animals, and lost the ability to make boats. Thus, the waters around Ellesmere were not navigated again until the arrival of large European vessels after 1800.{{r|"Dick"|p=21}}

===Early European exploration===

Much of the initial phase of European exploration of the [[North American Arctic]] was centred on a search for the [[Northwest Passage]] and undertaken by Britain.{{r|"Fjagesund2014"|p=334}} The 1616 expedition of [[William Baffin]] were the first Europeans to record sighting the then-unnamed Ellesmere Island (Baffin named Jones and Smith Sounds on the island's south and southeast coasts).<ref name="EBbaffin"/> However, the onset of the Little Ice Age interrupted the progress of explorations for two centuries.

In 1818, an ice jam in [[Baffin Bay]] broke, allowing European vessels access to the High Arctic ([[whaler]]s had been active in [[Davis Strait]], about {{cvt|1000|km|disp=sqbr}} southeast of Ellesmere, since 1719).{{r|"Dick"|p=29–30}} Baffin Bay was then navigable in the summers due to the presence of an ice dam in Smith Sound, which prevented Arctic [[drift ice]] from flowing south. The other channels of the archipelago remained congested with ice.{{r|"Dick"|p=37}}

That year<!--1818-->, [[John Ross (Royal Navy officer)|John Ross]] led the first recorded European expedition to [[Cape York (Greenland)|Cape York]],{{r|"Dick"|p=65}} at which time there were reportedly only 140 [[Inughuit]].{{r|"Dick"|p=61}} (The Inughuit of North Greenland, the [[Kalaallit]] of West Greenland, and [[Inuit]] of the archipelago are descendants of the Thule culture, which had diverged during the isolation imposed by the Little Ice Age.) Knowledge of Ellesmere persisted in the oral histories of the Inuit of Baffin Island and the Inughuit of northern Greenland,{{r|"Dick"|p=55}} who each called it {{langnf|iu-Latn|Umingmak Nuna|land of [[muskox]]en}}.<ref name="Science1885"/>

=== Euro-American exploration and contact ===

The search for [[Franklin's lost expedition]] – also searching for the Northwest Passage and to establish claims to the Far North – involved more than forty expeditions to the High Arctic over two decades, and represented the peak period of Euro-American Arctic exploration.{{r|"Fjagesund2014"|p=334}}{{r|"Gullason2004"|p=19}} [[Edward Augustus Inglefield]] led an 1852 expedition which surveyed the coastlines of Baffin Bay and Smith Sound, being stopped by ice in Nares Strait.{{r|"Fjagesund2014"|p=339}} He named Ellesmere Island for the president of the [[Royal Geographical Society]] (1849–1852), [[Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere]].<ref name="canencyc"/> The [[Second Grinnell expedition]] (1853–1855) made slightly further progress before becoming trapped in the ice. Over two winters the expedition charted both sides of [[Kane Basin]] to about 80°N, from where [[Elisha Kent Kane]] claimed to have sighted the conjectured [[Open Polar Sea]].{{r|"Fjagesund2014"|p=339–340}}

During this period, as the Little Ice Age abated and the hunting of marine mammals became more feasible again, Aboriginal peoples began to return to Ellesmere Island. The most well-known of these migrations in both Inuit and European accounts is the journey of Qitlaq, who led a group of Inuit families from Baffin Island to northwestern Greenland, via Ellesmere Island, in the 1850s.{{efn|Qitlaq reportedly met members of Inglefield's 1854 expedition and Sir [[Leopold McClintock]]'s 1857–1859 expedition while on [[Devon Island]]{{r|"Dick"|p=102}} }} This journey reestablished contact between Inuit who had been separated for two centuries and reintroduced vital technologies to the Inughuit.{{r|"Dick"|p=99–101}} Other groups followed and by the 1870s Inuit were living on Ellesmere Island and had regular contact with those on the neighbouring islands.{{r|"Dick"|p=109}}

Contact between Inuit and Europeans or Americans was often indirect, as the Inuit happened upon shipwrecks or abandoned base camps which provided wood and metal resources. European goods were also obtained through inter-group trade. Long-term contact began in the 1800s through whaling stations and trading posts, which frequently relocated.{{r|"Gullason2004"|p=12}} Euro-American expeditions employed Inughuit, Inuit and west Greenlander guides, hunters and labourers, gradually blending their knowledge with European technology to conduct effective exploration.{{r|"Dick"|p=30}}
[[File:Ship under Cape Prescott (Ellesmere Island) - 1875.jpg|thumb|[[HMS Alert (1856)|HMS ''Alert'']] off [[Cape Prescott]] in 1875]]
British and United States Arctic expeditions had been interrupted for some years due to the priorities of the [[Crimean War]] and the [[American Civil War]], respectively.{{r|"Fjagesund2014"|p=340}} By about 1860, the focus of Arctic exploration had shifted to the [[Arctic exploration#The North Pole|North Pole]]. As earlier attempts at the pole via [[Svalbard]] or eastern Greenland had reached impasses, numerous expeditions came to Ellesmere Island to pursue the route through Nares Straight.{{r|"Fjagesund2014"|p=334}}
[[File:Fort_Conger,_Grinnell_Land,_May_20,_1883.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Conger]] in Grinnel Land, May 1883]]
The United States expedition led by [[Adolphus Greely]] in 1881 crossed the island from east to west,{{r|"Dick"|p=631}} establishing [[Fort Conger]] in the northern part of the island. The Greely expedition found [[Petrified wood|fossil forests]] on Ellesmere Island in the late 1880s. Stenkul Fiord was first explored in 1902 by Per Schei, a member of [[Otto Sverdrup]]'s 2nd Norwegian Polar Expedition.

The [[Ellesmere Ice Shelf]] was documented by the [[British Arctic Expedition]] of 1875–76, in which Lieutenant [[Pelham Aldrich]]'s party went from [[Cape Sheridan]] ({{Coord|82|28|N|061|30|W|region:CA-NU_scale:500000|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OAOVZ|Cape Sheridan}}</ref>|display=inline|name=Cape Sheridan}}) west to Cape Alert ({{coord|82|16|N|85|33|W|type:landmark_scale:600000_region:CA-NU|name=Cape Alert (Ellesmere Island)}}), including the [[Ward Hunt Ice Shelf]]. In 1906 [[Robert Peary]] led an expedition in northern Ellesmere Island, from Cape Sheridan along the coast to the western side of [[Nansen Sound]] (93°W). During Peary's expedition, the [[ice shelf]] was continuous; it has since been estimated to have covered {{cvt|8900|km2}}.<ref name="Jeffries1986"/> The ice shelf broke apart in the 20th century, presumably due to [[climate change]].

=== Establishment of Canadian sovereignty ===

In 1880, the [[British Arctic Territories]] were transferred to Canada.<ref name="Smith1961"/> Canada did little to solidify its legal possession of the islands until prompted by foreign action in 1902–03: Otto Sverdrup claimed [[Sverdrup Islands|three islands west of Ellesmere]] for Norway, the [[Alaska boundary dispute]] was settled against Canada's interests, and [[Roald Amundsen]] set out to sail the Northwest Passage.{{r|"Schledermann2003"|p=101–104}} To establish an official government presence in the Far North, the [[North-West Mounted Police]] (NWMP) were sent on sovereignty patrols. A NWMP detachment sailed to the Arctic whaling stations in 1903, where they forbade whalers from killing muskox or trading skins, in order to prevent overhunting and protect the Inuit's ability to sustain themselves. In 1904 a NWMP detachment sailed to Cape Herschel at the east end of Sverdrup Pass, where they could intercept hunters accessing the interior of Ellesmere.{{r|"Schledermann2003"|p=101–104}}

While the fur trade was brought under control, American exploration parties to the Far North had acted with autonomy and intensively hunted terrestrial mammals to sustain their expeditions. Peary's parties had heavily hunted muskoxen on Ellesmere and had nearly brought the extinction of caribou in northern Greenland; the [[Crocker Land Expedition]] (1913–1916) also extensively hunted muskoxen. In response to these and other trespasses, the government amended the ''Northwest Game Act'' to prohibit the killing of muskoxen except for Native inhabitants who otherwise faced starvation.{{r|"Schledermann2003"|p=102}}

In 1920, the government learned that [[Inughuit]] from Greenland had been annually visiting Ellesmere Island for polar bear and muskox hunting – in violation of Canadian law – and selling the skins at [[Knud Rasmussen]]'s trading post at [[North Star Bay]] (known as Thule). The Danish government stated that North Greenland was a "no man's land" outside their administration and Rasmussen, as the ''de facto'' sole authority, refused to stop the trade, which the Inughuit needed to support themselves. In response, [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP) detachments were established on Ellesmere Island at [[Craig Harbour]] in 1922 and at Bache Post in 1926, positioned to guard the coastal and overland routes to the hunting grounds on the western side of Ellesmere.{{r|"Schledermann2003"|p=102–104}}{{r|"Pharand1983"|p=315–316}} In addition to intercepting illegal hunting and fur-trading, the RCMP conducted patrols and encouraged the Inuit to maintain their traditional lifestyle.{{r|"Gullason2004"|p=25–26}} The posts were closed in the mid-1930s, after the sovereignty issues had been settled.{{r|"Schledermann2003"|p=105}}

==Geography==
[[File:Ellesmere topo.png|thumb|left|Topography of Ellesmere Island]]
[[File:Wfm ellesmere island.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image montage showing Ellesmere Island and its neighbours]]

Ellesmere Island is the northernmost island of the [[Arctic Archipelago]] in [[Northern Canada|Canada's Far North]] and one of the [[Extreme points of the Arctic|world's northernmost land masses]]. It is exceeded in this regard only by neighbouring [[Greenland]], which extends about {{cvt|60|km}} closer to the north pole. Ellesmere's northernmost point, [[Cape Columbia]] (at {{coord|83|06|41|N|69|57|13|W|region:CA-NU_scale:2000000|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OADRA|Cape Columbia}}</ref>|name=Cape Columbia}}), is less than {{cvt|800|km}} from the north pole, while its southern coasts at 77°N are well within the Arctic Circle.{{r|"Dick"|p=7}}

Ellesmere has the highest and longest mountain ranges in eastern North America and is the most mountainous island in the Arctic Archipelago. It has over half of the archipelago's ice cover, with ice caps and glaciers across 40% of its surface. Its extensive coastline includes some of the world's longest fiords.{{r|"Dick"|p=7–9}}

To the west, Ellesmere is separated from [[Axel Heiberg Island]] by [[Nansen Sound|Nansen]] and [[Eureka Sound]]s, the latter of which narrows to {{cvt|13|km}}. [[Devon Island]] is to the south across [[Jones Sound]]; at the west end of the sound, they are separated by [[North Kent Island]] and two channels which narrow to {{cvt|4|and|10|km}}. Greenland is to the east across [[Nares Strait]]; the strait narrows to {{cvt|46|km}} at Cape Isabella on [[Smith Sound]] and further north narrows to {{cvt|19|km}} at [[Robeson Channel]]. These channels and straits typically freeze over in winter,{{r|"Dick"|p=9–11}} though winds and currents leave pockets of open water (temporary [[lead (sea ice)|leads]] and persistent [[polynya]]s) in Nares Strait.{{r|"Dick"|p=20–21}} To the north of Ellesmere is the [[Arctic Ocean]], with [[Lincoln Sea]] to the northeast.{{r|"Dick"|p=7}}

===Protected areas===
More than one-fifth of the island is protected as [[Quttinirpaaq National Park]] (formerly Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve), which includes seven [[fjord]]s and a variety of [[glacier]]s, as well as [[Lake Hazen]], North America's largest lake north of the [[Arctic Circle]]. [[Barbeau Peak]], the highest mountain in Nunavut ({{cvt|2616|m|disp=sqbr}}) is located in the [[British Empire Range]] on Ellesmere Island. The most northern [[mountain range]] in the world, the [[Challenger Mountains]], is located in the northeast region of the island. The northern lobe of the island is called [[Grant Land]].
[[File:AirForceGlacier.jpg|thumb|Air Force glacier in Quttinirpaaq National Park]]
[[File:Tanquary Fiord 16 1997-08-05.jpg|thumb|[[Gull Glacier]] in [[Tanquary Fiord]]]]
[[File:Ellesmere2008-396 (2738914609).jpg|thumb|Hiking on Ellesmere Island]]
The [[Salix arctica|Arctic willow]] is the only [[Woody plant|woody]] species to grow on Ellesmere Island.<ref name="KemmickPoles"/>

In July 2007, a study noted the disappearance of habitat for [[Anseriformes|waterfowl]], [[invertebrate]]s, and [[algae]] on Ellesmere Island. According to [[John Smol]] of [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]], and Marianne S. V. Douglas of the [[University of Alberta]] in [[Edmonton]], warming conditions and evaporation have caused low water levels and changes in the chemistry of ponds and wetlands in the area. The researchers noted that "In the 1980s they often needed to wear hip waders to make their way to the ponds...while by 2006 the same areas were dry enough to burn."<ref name="enn"/>

===Climate===
Ellesmere Island has a [[tundra climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''ET'') and an [[ice cap climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''EF'') with the temperature being cold year-round.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} Two semi-permanent air systems dominate the weather: the high-pressure northern [[polar vortex]] and a low-pressure area which forms in different sites between Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea.{{r|"Dick"|p=25}} Prevailing winds on Ellesmere are northwesterly, cold, and of low humidity due to ice cover over the Arctic Ocean.{{r|"Dick"|p=32–33}} Seasonal shifts on Ellesmere are sudden and striking: winters are long and harsh, summers short and relatively abundant, with spring and autumn being brief intervals of transition.{{r|"Dick"|p=42}}

Fog regularly occurs near open water in September.{{r|"Dick"|p=22}} While the major air systems strengthen towards their annual peak in winter, the Arctic and Atlantic air masses collide in autumn to produce severe storms at Ellesmere.{{r|"Dick"|p=22, 25}} The storm season peaks in October and persists until the sea freezes.{{r|"Dick"|p=46}} The polar vortex strengthens during the polar night and gives rise to easterly winds which are major hazards for populations, especially given the very low temperatures. January winds have been recorded at {{cvt|104|kph}} with gusts to {{cvt|130|–|145|kph}} at Fort Conger and {{cvt|65|–|80|kph}} at Lake Hazen.{{r|"Dick"|p=25}} Very cold temperatures continue until April and no month passes without experiencing freezing temperatures.{{r|"Dick"|p=33}}

Snowfall begins in late August and does not melt until the June thaw. The seasonal shift in daylight is also extreme.{{r|"Dick"|p=42}} The polar night lasts from four-and-a-half months in the north to about three months in the south.{{r|"Dick"|p=44}}

====Regional variation====

Ellesmere's Arctic marine climate is strongly affected in the north by Arctic Ocean currents and the polar vortex, while the climate of the southeastern coast is influenced by the warm Atlantic water of the [[West Greenland Current]].{{r|"Dick"|p=23}} Interior regions shielded by the island's high mountain ranges experience distinctive [[continental climate|quasi-continental microclimates]].{{r|"Dick"|p=9}}

The highest precipitation is on the northern coast, averaging {{cvt|80|to|100|mm}}. On the south side of the Grant Land mountains, only {{cvt|20|mm}} reaches the Hazen Plateau.{{r|"Dick"|p=32–33}}

The average number of snow-free days varies from 45 days on the north coast to 77 days in the Eureka–Tanquary corridor.{{r|"Dick"|p=33}}

Winters are considerably colder in the interior. At Lake Hazen, Peary's expedition recorded daytime temperatures of {{cvt|-64|F|order=flip}} in February&nbsp;1900, and a Defence Research Board party recorded temperatures as low as {{cvt|-69.2|F|order=flip}} in the winter of 1957–58.{{efn|While Dick 2001 gives this temperature as {{cvt|-70|C}},{{r|"Dick"|p=43}} this is the only temperature the source provides in Celsius on that and the adjacent pages and appears to be a typo. Other sources for this International Geophysical Year observation station give the temperature as {{convert|-69.2|F}}, noting that this stands as the coldest temperature reported in the Arctic Archipelago.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/environment/canada-s-coldest-day|title=Canada's Coldest Day|website=Canada's History|first=David W.|last=Phillips|date=3 April 2016|publisher=Canada's History Society}}</ref> }} Nonetheless, there are archaeological remains of winter dwellings of both Independence and [[Thule people|Thule cultures]] in the interior.{{r|"Dick"|p=43–44}}
{{Grise Fiord weatherbox}}
{{Eureka, Nunavut weatherbox}}
{{Alert, Nunavut weatherbox}}

====Climate change====
<!--
Ice core samples from Ellesmere's ice caps show a general warming interval between 400 BCE and 1300 CE.{{r|"Dick"|p=27}}
-->
A [[Paleolimnology|paleolimnological]] study of algae in the sediments of shallow ponds on Cape Herschel (which faces Smith Sound on Ellesmere's eastern coast<ref name="Smol1994"/><ref>{{cite cgndb |id=OAHEA|name=Cape Herschel}}</ref>) found that the ponds had been permanent and relatively stable for several millennia until experiencing ecological changes associated with warming, beginning around 1850 and accelerating in the early 2000s. During the 23-year study period, an ecological threshold was crossed as several of the study ponds had completely desiccated while others had very reduced water levels. In addition, the wetlands surrounding the ponds were severely affected and dried vegetation could be easily burned.<ref name="Douglas2007"/>

===Glaciers, ice caps and ice shelves===
[[File:Ellesmere Island 02.jpg|thumb|left|Glaciers of southeastern Ellesmere Island, June&nbsp;1975]]
[[File:Ward Hunt Island, Ice Shelf 02.jpg|thumb|Ward Hunt Island (foreground), Ward Hunt Ice Shelf and northern Ellesmere Island (left), July 1988]][[File:Ellesmere Island 06.jpg|thumb|left|The overhanging ice front of Webber Glacier with waterfalls. Debris rich layers of the ground moraine are sheared and folded into the ice of the advancing polar glacier. The glacier front is {{cvt|6|km}} broad and up to {{cvt|40|m}} high. Borup Fiord, Grant Land, Ellesmere Island, July&nbsp;1978]]
Large portions of Ellesmere Island are covered with glaciers and ice, with Manson Icefield ({{cvt|6200|km2}}) and Sydkap ({{cvt|3700|km2}}) in the south; [[Prince of Wales Mountains|Prince of Wales Icefield]] ({{cvt|20700|km2}}) and [[Agassiz Ice Cap]] ({{cvt|21500|km2}}) along the central-east side of the island, and the Northern Ellesmere icefields ({{cvt|24400|km2}}).<ref name="Wolken"/>

The northwest coast of Ellesmere Island was covered by a massive, {{cvt|500|km}} long [[ice shelf]] until the 20th century. The Ellesmere Ice Shelf shrank by 90 per cent in the 20th century due to warming trends in the Arctic,<ref name="Revkin"/>{{r|"Vincent2001"|p=133}} particularly in the 1930s and 1940s, a period when the largest [[Iceberg|ice islands]] (the {{cvt|200|mi2|order=flip}} T1 and the {{cvt|300|sqmi|order=flip}} T2 ice islands) were formed leaving the separate [[Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf|Alfred Ernest]], Ayles, Milne, Ward Hunt, and [[Markham Ice Shelf|Markham]] Ice Shelves.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} The [[Ward Hunt Ice Shelf]], the largest remaining section of thick (>10&nbsp;m, >30&nbsp;ft{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}) [[Fast ice|landfast]] sea ice along the northern coastline of Ellesmere Island, lost almost {{cvt|600|km2}} of ice in a massive calving in 1961–1962. Five large ice islands which resulted account for 79% of the calved material.<ref name="Hattersley-Smith1963"/> It further decreased by 27% in thickness ({{cvt|13|m}}) between 1967 and 1999.<ref name="Vincent2001"/> A 1986 survey of Canadian ice shelves found that {{cvt|48|km2}} or {{cvt|3.3|km3}} of ice calved from the [[Milne Ice Shelf|Milne]] and [[Ayles Ice Shelf|Ayles]] ice shelves between 1959 and 1974.<!--not precisely true, these are the figures for ice islands created, not the ice calving. Needs rephrasing.--><ref name="Jeffries1986"/>

[[File:Osborn Range (05-08-97).jpg|thumb|The [[Osborn Range]] of the [[Arctic Cordillera]] mountain system]]
The breakup of the Ellesmere Ice Shelves has continued in the 21st century: the Ward Ice Shelf experienced a major breakup during the summer of 2002;<ref name="Nasa2004"/> the Ayles Ice Shelf calved entirely on 13&nbsp;August 2005; the largest breakoff of the ice shelf in 25 years, it may pose a threat to the oil industry in the [[Beaufort Sea]]. The piece is {{cvt|66|km2}}.<ref name="BBC2006"/> In April 2008, it was discovered that the Ward Hunt shelf was fractured, with dozens of deep, multi-faceted cracks<ref name="Weber2008"/> and in September 2008 the Markham shelf ({{cvt|50|km2}}) completely broke off to become floating [[sea ice]].<ref name="BBC2008"/>

A 2018 study measured a 5.9% reduction in area amongst 1,773 glaciers in Northern Ellesmere island in the 16-year period 1999–2015 based on satellite data. In the same period, 19 out of 27 [[ice tongue]]s disintegrated to their grounding lines and ice shelves suffered a 42% loss in surface area.<ref name="White2018"/>

===Paleontology===
[[File:Arctic circle.svg|thumb|Canada's northern neighbours shown on a circumpolar projection of the [[Arctic]]]]
Schei and later [[Alfred Gabriel Nathorst]]<ref name="Nathorst1915"/> described the [[Paleocene]]-[[Eocene]] (ca. 55 Ma) [[fossil]] forest in the Stenkul Fiord sediments. The Stenkul Fiord site represents a series of [[River delta|deltaic swamp]] and [[floodplain]] forests.<ref name="Kalkreuth1996"/> The trees stood for at least 400 years. Individual stumps and stems of >1 m (>3&nbsp;ft) diameter were abundant, and are identified as ''[[Metasequoia]]'' and possibly ''[[Glyptostrobus]]''. Well preserved [[Pliocene]] [[peat]]s containing abundant vertebrate and plant [[macrofossil]]s characteristic of a [[taiga|boreal forest]] have been reported from [[Strathcona Fiord]].<ref name="Tedford2003"/><ref name="Ballantyne2010"/>

In 2006, [[University of Chicago]] [[Paleontology|paleontologist]] [[Neil Shubin]] and [[Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University|Academy of Natural Sciences]] paleontologist [[Ted Daeschler]] reported the discovery of the fossil of a [[Paleozoic]] (ca. 375 Ma) fish, named ''[[Tiktaalik|Tiktaalik roseae]]'', in the former [[stream bed]]s of Ellesmere Island. The fossil exhibits many characteristics of fish, but also indicates a [[transitional fossil|transitional]] creature that may be a predecessor of [[amphibian]]s, [[reptile]]s, birds, and [[mammal]]s, including humans.<ref name="Wilford2006"/>

In 2011, Jason P. Downs and co-authors described the [[Sarcopterygii|sarcopterygian]] ''[[Laccognathus embryi]]'' from specimens collected from the same locality that ''Tiktaalik'' was found.<ref name="NGS2011"/>

===Ecology===
The ecosystems of the High Arctic are considered to be young and underdeveloped, having only emerged since the glacial retreat of 8,000 to 6,000&nbsp;BCE. There is a lack of species diversity, with a small number of animal species and short food chains.{{r|"Dick"|p=30}}
[[File:OTC at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island.jpg|thumb|[[International Tundra Experiment]] on Ellesmere Island]]
These species have adapted to take advantage of the productive summer while surviving through winter scarcity. Zooplankton, for example, grow to a larger body size and produce larger eggs in greater numbers than in other regions.{{r|"Dick"|p=42–43}}

Aside from the polar desert conditions of much of the island, there are remarkably productive ecological zones in the arctic oasis of the Lake Hazen area and the polynyas of the island's coastal waters.{{r|"Dick"|p=33}}

====Insect ecology====
Ellesmere Island is noted as being the northernmost occurrence of [[Eusociality|eusocial]] insects; specifically, the [[bumblebee]] ''[[Bombus polaris]]''. There is a second species of bumblebee occurring there, ''[[Bombus natvigi]]'', which is a parasite in the nests of ''B. polaris''.<ref name="Milliron1966"/><ref name="Williams2015"/>

While non-eusocial, the Arctic woolly bear moth (''[[Gynaephora groenlandica]]'') can also be found at Ellesmere Island. While this species generally has a 10-year life cycle, its life is known to extend to up to 14 years at both the [[Alexandra Fiord]] lowland and Ellesmere Island.<ref name="Kukal1988"/><ref name="Barrio2013"/>

===Earth's magnetism===
In 2015, the Earth's [[Geomagnetic pole|geomagnetic north pole]] was located at approximately {{Coord|80.37|N|72.62|W|name=Geomagnetic North Pole 2015 est}}, on Ellesmere Island.<ref name="NGDC2018"/> It is forecast to remain on Ellesmere Island in 2020, shifting to {{Coord|80.65|N|72.68|W|name=Geomagnetic North Pole 2020 est}}.<ref name="NGDClimit"/>

==Population==
[[File:Ellesmere Island 01.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of [[Eureka, Nunavut|Eureka]], June&nbsp;1988|upright]]
All groups occupying the island settled on the coast, particularly those relying on maritime resources, while modern-era government-funded settlements were initially supplied by sea.{{r|"Dick"|p=16}}

In 2021, the population of Ellesmere Island was recorded as 144. There are three settlements on Ellesmere Island: [[Alert, Nunavut|Alert]] (permanent pop. 0, but home to a small temporary population), [[Eureka, Nunavut|Eureka]] (permanent pop. 0), and [[Grise Fiord]] (pop. 144).<ref name=2021census/> Politically, it is part of the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]]. Part of the year there are also [[Parks Canada]] staff stationed at [[Camp Hazen]] and [[Tanquary Fiord Airport]].

=== Alert ===
[[CFS Alert|Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert]] is the [[Northernmost settlements|northernmost continuously inhabited settlement]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Struzik |first1=Edward |title=Alert |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alert |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=24 April 2022 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221142748/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alert |url-status=live }}</ref> With the end of the [[Cold War]] and the advent of new technologies allowing for remote interpretation of data, the overwintering population has been reduced to 62 civilians and military personnel as of 2016.

=== Eureka ===
Eureka (the third northernmost settlement in the world) consists of three areas: [[Eureka Aerodrome]], which includes Fort Eureka (the quarters for military personnel maintaining the island's communications equipment); the [[Environment and Climate Change Canada|Environment Canada]] Weather Station; and the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL), formerly the Arctic Stratospheric Ozone (AStrO) Observatory. Eureka has the lowest average annual temperature and least precipitation of any weather station in Canada.

=== Grise Fiord ===
[[File:Life size monument.jpg|thumb|Monument to the first Inuit settlers relocated to [[Grise Fiord]] in 1952–55. This was during Canada's controversial [[High Arctic relocation]] program<ref>{{cite book|url=https://data2.archives.ca/rcap/pdf/rcap-458.pdf |title=The High Arctic Relocation |date=1994 |access-date=30 November 2024| page=iv |author=[[Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples]] | publisher=[[Minister of Supply and Services|Minister of Supply and Services Canada]]}}</ref> |upright]]
[[Grise Fiord]] ([[Inuktitut language|Inuktitut]]: {{Lang|iu|ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ}}, [[Romanization of Inuktitut|Romanized]]: {{Lang|iu-Latn|Aujuittuq}}, <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]] "</small>place that never thaws") is an [[Inuit]] hamlet that, despite a population of only 144,<ref name=2021census/> is the largest community on Ellesmere Island.

Located at the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, Grise Fiord lies {{cvt|1,160|km}} north of the [[Arctic Circle]]. Grise Fiord is the [[Northernmost settlements|northernmost civilian settlement]] in Canada. It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, with an average yearly temperature of {{cvt|−16.5|C}}.

Grise Fiord is cradled by the [[Arctic Cordillera]] mountain range.

==Transportation==
Transportation along coastal waters has been historically important for hunting and trade, whether on the sea ice or in small boats.{{r|"Dick"|p=21}} The [[ice foot]], a belt of level and secure ice around the shoreline between the high and low water marks, can be used from mid-September to July.{{r|"Dick"|p=17}} In contrast, the pack ice does not stabilize and freeze fast until February, and presents a much rougher surface for travel.{{r|"Dick"|p=19–20}}

The navigation season for seagoing vessels is from late July to September, but is often considered treacherous due to currents, persistent shore ice, sea ice, and massive icebergs calved off of the many glaciers. September also marks a change in the weather with regular fog and the beginning of the autumn storm season.{{r|"Dick"|p=21–22}}

==In popular culture==
Ellesmere Island is the setting of much of [[Melanie McGrath]]'s ''The Long Exile: A True Story of Deception and Survival Amongst the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic''<ref name="McGrath2007"/> about the [[High Arctic relocation]], and also of her Edie Kiglatuk mystery series.<ref name="McGrath2011"/>

In the [[2013 in film|2013]] American [[superhero film]] ''[[Man of Steel (film)|Man of Steel]]'', Ellesmere Island is the site of a combined United States-Canadian scientific expedition to recover an ancient [[Kryptonian]] [[Fortress of Solitude#Film|spaceship]] buried in the glacial ice pack.<ref name="Superman"/>

The island is the location for the 2014 [[BBC]] programme ''Snow Wolf Family and Me''.<ref name="BBCWolf"/>

The 2008 documentary ''Exile'' by [[Zacharias Kunuk]] documents the experiences of Inuit families who were forcibly relocated to Ellesmere island in the 1950s to settle it for the Canadian government. The families discuss being deceived by the government about the conditions and terms of where they were going and having to endure years of surviving in inhospitable conditions with little food or water.<ref name="KunukDoc"/>

In 2022, the US [[National Museum of Wildlife Art]] debuted the travelling exhibit ''Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan.'' The exhibit was developed in collaboration with the [[National Geographic Society]] and features images and videos of the [[Arctic wolf|Arctic wolves]] living on Ellesmere Island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan |url=https://www.wildlifeart.org/exhibits/wolves-photographs-by-ronan-donovan |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=National Museum of Wildlife Art}}</ref> 

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Lomonosov Ridge]]
*[[Ledoyom]]
*[[Serson Ice Shelf]]
*[[Borup Fiord Pass]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2|refs=

<!--history-->

<ref name="McGhee1996">{{cite book
|last=McGhee
|first=Robert
|author-link=Robert McGhee (archaeologist)
|title=Ancient People of the Arctic
|year=1996
|publisher=[[University of British Columbia Press]]
|isbn=978-0-7748-0854-5
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<ref name="Gullason2004">{{cite journal
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<ref name="Sutherland2000">{{cite web
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<!-- geography -->

<ref name="area">{{cite web
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<ref name="enn">{{cite news
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<ref name="Jeffries1986">{{cite journal
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<ref name="Revkin">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/science/earth/30ice.html?_r=3&|title=Arctic Ice Shelf Broke Off Canadian Island|newspaper=New York Times|date=December 30, 2006|first=Andrew C.|last=Revkin|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-date=21 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121160444/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/science/earth/30ice.html?_r=3&|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Hattersley-Smith1963">{{cite journal|last1=Hattersley-Smith|first1=G|title=The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf: recent changes of the ice front|journal=Journal of Glaciology|volume=4|issue=34|pages=415–424|year=1963|bibcode=1963JGlac...4..415H|doi=10.1017/S0022143000027830|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="Vincent2001">{{cite journal|last1=Vincent|first1=WF|first2=JAE|last2=Gibson|first3=MO|last3=Jeffries|url=http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/warwickvincent/PDFfiles/149.pdf|title=Ice-shelf collapse, climate change, and habitat loss in the Canadian high Arctic|journal=[[Polar Record]]|volume=37|issue=201|pages=133–142|year=2001|doi=10.1017/S0032247400026954|bibcode=2001PoRec..37..133V |s2cid=85551921|access-date=29 December 2006|archive-date=10 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910214656/http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/warwickvincent/PDFfiles/149.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

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<ref name="Weber2008">{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/413838 |title=Cracks in Arctic ice shelf signal its demise |author=Bob Weber, The Canadian Press |work=The Star |location=Toronto |date=April 12, 2008 |access-date=May 1, 2010 |archive-date=7 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607111111/http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/413838 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="BBC2006">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6218333.stm|work=BBC News|title=Huge Arctic ice break discovered|access-date=February 3, 2014|date=December 29, 2006|archive-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630025639/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6218333.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="BBC2008">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7595441.stm |title=Major ice-shelf loss for Canada |author=BBC News |date=September 3, 2008 |access-date=January 3, 2010 |archive-date=4 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904011401/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7595441.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

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<!--Paleontology-->

<ref name="Nathorst1915">{{cite book|last=Nathorst|first=AG|year=1915|title=Tertiare Pflanzenreste Aus Ellesmere-Land. Report of the Second Norwegian Arctic Expedition in the Fram, 1898–1902|publisher=The Society of Arts and Sciences of Kristiania|volume=35}}</ref>

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<ref name="Wilford2006">{{cite news |title=Fossil Called Missing Link From Sea to Land Animals |work=The New York Times |date=April 6, 2006 |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/science/06fossil.html?_r=3& |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116071944/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/science/06fossil.html?_r=3& |url-status=live }}</ref>

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}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Eberle | first1 = Jaelyn | last2 = McKenna | first2 = Malcolm | year = 2002 | title = Early Eocene Leptictida, Pantolesta, Creodonta, Carnivora, and Mesonychidae (Mammalia) from the Eureka Sound Group, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut | journal = Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences | volume = 39 | issue = 6| pages = 899–910 | doi=10.1139/e02-001| bibcode = 2002CaJES..39..899E }}
* {{cite book|last=Kobalenko|first=Jerry|oclc=48013772|title=The Horizontal Everest Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island|location=New York, NY|publisher=Soho|year=2002|isbn=978-1-56947-266-8|url=https://archive.org/details/horizontaleveres00koba}}
* {{cite book|first1=Manseau|last1=Micheline|first2=Lyle|last2=Dick|first3=Natasha|last3=Lyons|title=People, caribou, and muskoxen on northern Ellesmere Island historical interactions and population ecology, ca. 4300 BP to present|location=Ottawa|publisher=Parks Canada|year=2005|isbn=978-0-662-68835-8}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Mech|first1=L. David|last2=Brandenburg|first2=Jim|title=Life in the High Arctic|journal=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]|date=June 1988|volume=173|number=6|pages=750–767}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{GeoGroup}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150502023340/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/toporama?center=451619.75218194,3420379.7574806&zoom=4 Ellesmere Island in the Atlas of Canada - Toporama; Natural Resources Canada]
* [http://bivouac.com/ArxPg.asp?ArxId=1095 Mountains on Ellesmere Island]
* [https://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca//arctic/Arctic10-1-32.pdf Detailed map, northern Ellesmere Island, including named capes, points, bays, and offshore islands] by [[Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith]]
* [https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/1049 Norman E. Brice Report on Ellesmere Island] at Dartmouth College Library
{{Queen Elizabeth Islands}}
{{Arctic Cordillera}}
{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region}}
{{World's largest islands}}
{{Subject bar|auto=1|Geography|Canada|islands}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ellesmere Island| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Baffin Bay]]
[[Category:Islands of the Queen Elizabeth Islands]]
[[Category:Inhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region]]