Ellef Ringnes Island is one of the
Sverdrup IslandsThe Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island at around 82° north and 95° west.- History :...
in Qikiqtaaluk Region,
NunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory 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...
,
CanadaCanada 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...
. Also a member of the
Queen Elizabeth IslandsThe Queen Elizabeth Islands are the northernmost cluster of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, split between Nunavut and Northwest Territories in Northern Canada.-Geography:...
and
Canadian Arctic ArchipelagoThe Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as just the Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic...
, it is located in the
Arctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions.
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some...
, east of
Borden IslandBorden Island is an uninhabited, low-lying island in the Queen Elizabeth Islands of northern Canada. With an area of in size, it is the 172nd largest island in the world, and Canada's 30th largest island...
, and west of
Amund Ringnes IslandAmund Ringnes Island is one of the Sverdrup Islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Arctic Ocean, between 78 and 79 degrees of latitude. It lies east of Ellef Ringnes Island, west of Axel Heiberg Island. Hassel Sound separates Amund Ringnes Island from Ellef Ringnes...
. It has an area of , making it the
69th largest island in the world (slightly larger than
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) and
Canada's 16th largest island.
Ellef Ringnes Island is one of the
Sverdrup IslandsThe Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island at around 82° north and 95° west.- History :...
in Qikiqtaaluk Region,
NunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory 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...
,
CanadaCanada 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...
. Also a member of the
Queen Elizabeth IslandsThe Queen Elizabeth Islands are the northernmost cluster of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, split between Nunavut and Northwest Territories in Northern Canada.-Geography:...
and
Canadian Arctic ArchipelagoThe Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as just the Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic...
, it is located in the
Arctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions.
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some...
, east of
Borden IslandBorden Island is an uninhabited, low-lying island in the Queen Elizabeth Islands of northern Canada. With an area of in size, it is the 172nd largest island in the world, and Canada's 30th largest island...
, and west of
Amund Ringnes IslandAmund Ringnes Island is one of the Sverdrup Islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Arctic Ocean, between 78 and 79 degrees of latitude. It lies east of Ellef Ringnes Island, west of Axel Heiberg Island. Hassel Sound separates Amund Ringnes Island from Ellef Ringnes...
. It has an area of , making it the
69th largest island in the world (slightly larger than
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) and
Canada's 16th largest island. Its highest mount is .
The island was named by
Otto SverdrupOtto Neumann Sverdrup was a native of Bindal, Nordland county, Norway, known for his achievements within the areas of Arctic science and exploration.-Early life:...
for Oslo brewer
Ellef RingnesRingnes is the largest brewer in Norway. It was founded in 1876 by brothers Amund and Ellef Ringnes and financial director Axel Heiberg. The company's brewery in the Grünerløkka district of Oslo produced its first beer in 1877.The company sponsored the polar expeditions of Fridtjof Nansen and...
, one of the sponsors of his expedition. The island was then claimed by
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
from 1902 until the claim was relinquished (in favour of Canada) in 1930.
A High Arctic Weather Station (H.A.W.S.) called
IsachsenIsachsen was a remote Arctic research station on the western shore of Ellef Ringnes Island in the Sverdrup Islands, in the territory of Nunavut in Canada. It was founded to participate in a joint Canada-United States weather program. Isachsen operated from April 3, 1948 to September 19, 1978....
lies on the west coast of the island. It was opened April 3, 1948 as part of a joint Canada-U.S. military effort to support a
weather stationA weather station is a facility with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and...
network. When it closed on September 19, 1978, it was replaced with an automated weather system. The station represented the only known permanent human settlement of the island.
Ellef Ringnes Island was the last landmass to be visited by the Earth's wandering Magnetic North Pole. In April and May 1994, Larry Newitt, of the
Geological Survey of CanadaThe Geological Survey of Canada is part of the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada. GSC is responsible for performing geologic surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment...
, and Charles Barton, of the Australian Geological Survey Organisation, conducted a survey to determine the average position of the North Magnetic Pole at that time. They established a temporary magnetic observatory on
Lougheed IslandLougheed Island is one of the uninhabited Canadian arctic islands in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It measures in size. It is relatively isolated compared to other Canadian Arctic islands, and is located in the Arctic Ocean, halfway between Ellef Ringnes Island to the northeast and Melville Island...
, close to the predicted position of the pole. They determined that the average position of the North Magnetic Pole in 1994 was located on the Noice Peninsula, southwest Ellef Ringnes Island, at 78.3° N, 104.0° W. The pole shifted from the island that year and now lies some 250 miles (400 km) to the NNW
http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag/nmp/northpole_e.php.
Further reading