King Christian Island

King Christian Island

King Christian Island Show map of Nunavut King Christian Island Show map of Canada
Geography
Location	Arctic Ocean
Coordinates	77°4′N 102°00′W[1]
Archipelago	Sverdrup Islands Queen Elizabeth Islands Arctic Archipelago
Area	645 km^2 (249 sq mi)
Length	39 km (24.2 mi)
Width	26 km (16.2 mi)
Highest elevation	165 m (541 ft)
Highest point	King Christian Mountain[2]
Administration
Canada
Nunavut	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited
Source: King Christian Island at Atlas of Canada

King Christian Island is an uninhabited member of the Arctic Archipelago in the Sverdrup Islands, a part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It lies in the Arctic Ocean, 13.5 km (8.4 mi) from the southwestern coast of Ellef Ringnes Island, separated by the Danish Strait.

The island has an area of 645 km² (249 sq mi), measures 38.8 km (24.1 mi) long and 25.7 km (16.0 mi) wide.

History

The first European to visit the island was Gunnar Isachsen in 1901.^[3] Vilhjalmur Stefansson charted its southern coast in 1916.^[4]

In 1970, Panarctic Oils drilled an exploration well (number D18) on King Christian Island which blew out of control and caught fire. After drilling down to 610 m (2,010 ft), gas began to flow to the surface, caught fire and burned the rig. Panarctic estimated the gas flow at 5,700,000 m³ (200,000,000 cu ft) per day, the largest blowout in Canadian history.^[5]

References

1. "King Christian Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. 2 July 2024.
2. "King Christian Island". oceandots.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
3. Sverdrup, Otto and Ethel Harriet Hearn (1904). New Land; Four Years in the Arctic Regions. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
4. Stefansson, Vilhjalmur (1922). The Friendly Arctic: The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions. New York: Macmillan.
5. Gulless, Mickey; Maier, Len. "Killing the King Christian D – 18 well, Arctic Islands, 1970-1971". Vimeo. Retrieved 1 July 2024.

External links

• King Christian Island in the Atlas of Canada - Toporama; Natural Resources Canada

Further reading

• Balkwill, H. R., and Roy, K. J.; Geology of King Christian Island, District of Franklin. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1977. ISBN 0-660-00835-1