Murchison Promontory

Murchison Promontory (71°58′N 94°57′W), a cape (promontory) in the northern Canadian Arctic,^[1] is the northernmost mainland point of the Americas and of Canada.^[2][3] Located 1,087 nautical miles (1,251 mi; 2,013 km) from the North Pole, it is 64 km (40 mi) farther north than Point Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost point of all U.S. territory.^[4]

Murchison Promontory

Location in Nunavut, Canada^[1]

Satellite image with Prince of Wales Island at centre. Near top right is the square-shaped Somerset Island, below which is the Murchison Promontory at the north end of the Boothia Peninsula, part of the continental mainland.

Geography

MS Ocean Endeavour in September 2019 proceeding west to east along the Bellot Strait; ahead is Zenith Point, the northernmost point of continental North America.

Murchison Promontory extends along the northern edge of the Boothia Peninsula, at right angles to the Bellot Strait, which separates it from Somerset Island. Situated in the Kitikmeot Region (Inuktitut: Qitirmiut) of Nunavut, its northernmost point, Zenith Point, is located at 72°00′N 94°39′W.^[5][6] The nearest community is Taloyoak, approximately 250 km (160 mi) to the south.

History

The area was first explored in April 1852 by the Canadian Captain William Kennedy and the French explorer Joseph René Bellot while searching for traces of John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition.^[7][8] The strait was then named after Bellot, who drowned the following year after falling through the ice in the Wellington Channel.

Irish-born Francis Leopold McClintock also wintered in the area with his ship Fox in the winter of 1858–1859 in his search for the Franklin expedition.^[9] In July 1859, McClintock named the promontory, which his expedition determined to be the northernmost point of the mainland, after Royal Geographical Society president Roderick Murchison. Murchison was a prominent supporter of Jane Franklin in her efforts towards a continued search for her husband, which included the sponsorship of McClintock's expedition.^[10]

In 1937 Scot E. J. "Scotty" Gall passed the promontory on his ship Aklavik on the first crossing of the Bellot Strait,^[11] travelling from the western shore to the eastern for the Hudson's Bay Company.

References

1. "Murchison Promontory". Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
2. Querying Geographical Names of Canada Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine at Natural Resources Canada
3. Murchison Promontory Archived 2012-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at the Atlas of Canada
4. "The Northernmost Points In The United States". worldatlas.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
5. "Zenith Point". Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
6. "Somerset Island". Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) at Oceandots
7. Francis Leopold McClintock at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
8. The Columbia Gazetteer of North America 2000 Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
9. Bellot Strait at The Canadian Encyclopedia
10. McClintock, Francis (January 1881). Fate of Sir John Franklin: The Voyage of the Fox in the Arctic Seas in Search of Franklin and His Companions. John Murray. p. 276.
11. University of Calgary, Scotty Gall

External links

• About Murchison Promontory
• Map of Murchison Promontory
• Image of Murchison Promontory