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Cape Columbia
 
 
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Cape Columbia is the northernmost point of land of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, located on Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canada territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada....
 in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut
Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993....
. It marks the westernmost coastal point of Lincoln Sea
Lincoln Sea

Lincoln Sea is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland in the east....
 in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
. It is the world's northernmost point of land outside Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
 and the distance to the North Pole
North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface....
 is (478 mi / 415 nm).






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Lincoln Sea Map
Cape Columbia is the northernmost point of land of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, located on Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canada territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada....
 in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut
Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993....
. It marks the westernmost coastal point of Lincoln Sea
Lincoln Sea

Lincoln Sea is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland in the east....
 in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
. It is the world's northernmost point of land outside Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
 and the distance to the North Pole
North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface....
 is (478 mi / 415 nm). Cape Columbia was first reached in 1876 by Pelham Aldrich, a lieutenant with the expedition (1875-76)
British Arctic Expedition

The British Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, led by Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the British Admiralty to attempt to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound....
 of British explorer George Nares
George Nares

Admiral Sir George Strong Nares, Order of the Bath was a United Kingdom naval officer and Arctic List of explorers.The third son of William Henry Nares, another British naval captain, Nares was born at Llansenseld, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire ....
.

Besides being closest to the Pole, Cape Columbia was chosen by Robert Peary
Robert Peary

Robert Edwin Peary was an United States explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole....
 for the northernmost depot of his final attempt to reach the Pole in 1909, because it was far enough west to be out of the ice current setting down Robeson Channel
Robeson Channel

Robeson Channel is a body of water lying between Greenland and Canada's most northerly island, Ellesmere Island. It is the most northerly part of Nares Strait, linking Kennedy Channel to the south with the Arctic Ocean to the north....
. From Cape Columbia they planned to strike straight north over the ice of the Arctic Sea. The winter camp and his ship the Roosevelt was situated some southeast, at Cape Sheridan
Cape Sheridan

Cape Sheridan is on the northeastern coast of Ellesmere Island, Canada situated on the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. It is one of the closest points of land to the geographic North Pole, approx to the north, Cape Columbia is however some closer to the Pole....
 near Alert
Alert, Nunavut

Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the Northernmost settlements permanently inhabited place in the world. It takes its name from HMS Alert , which wintered east of the present station off what is now Cape Sheridan, Nunavut in 1875-1876....
.

Peary's sledge divisions left the Roosevelt from February 15 to 22, 1909, rendezvoused at Cape Columbia, and on March 1 the expedition left Cape Columbia, heading across the Arctic Ocean for the Pole. The 84th parallel was crossed on March 18, the 86th on March 23. The final position reached by Peary is doubtful, as the speeds he claimed after departure of the last independent witness are suspicious at best. Peary returned to land at Cape Columbia again on April 23.