Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island, island in the Baffin Region of the Nunavut Territory, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean. Located off the northwestern coast of Greenland, Ellesmere Island forms part of the Arctic Archipelago. Its northern tip, Cape Columbia, is the most northerly point of the North American continent. The island, about 740 km (about 460 mi) long and 483 km (300 mi) wide, is mountainous, with some peaks in the United States Range reaching more than 2743 m (9000 ft). Many fjords indent the eastern and western coasts of the island. In 1988 the extreme north of the island was proclaimed the Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve (37,775 sq km/14,585 sq mi). In 1999 the park changed its name to Quttinirpaaq National Park. Quttinirpaaq means 'top of world' in Inuktitut.

Some regions of Ellesmere Island receive only about 2.5 cm (1 in) of precipitation each year. As a result the island has little vegetation. Much of its surface lies under glacial ice cap. Herds of caribou and musk-ox roam some of the ice-free regions of the island. Human habitation is very sparse, with only a few scattered communities. One of these communities, Alert, a radio and weather station maintained by the United States and Canada, is the northernmost settlement in the world. Ellesmere Island was sighted by the English navigator William Baffin in 1616. Area, 196,236 sq km (75,767 sq mi).