The Bell Peninsula is located on southeastern Southampton Island

Southampton Island

Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...

, in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut 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...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is in close proximity to the small Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 community of Coral Harbour

Coral Harbour, Nunavut

Coral Harbour , is a small Inuit community that is located on Southampton Island, Kivalliq Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Its name is derived from the fossilized coral that can be found around the waters of the community which is situated at the head of South Bay...

. The southern shores make up the northern boundary of Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

. Foxe Basin

Foxe Basin

Not to be confused with Fox Bay, Falkland IslandsFoxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula...

 is to the east. There are several large bays surrounding the peninsula. Bowhead whale

Bowhead Whale

The bowhead whale is a baleen whale of the right whale family Balaenidae in suborder Mysticeti. A stocky dark-colored whale without a dorsal fin, it can grow to in length. This thick-bodied species can weigh to , second only to the blue whale, although the bowhead's maximum length is less than...

 frequent the area. The Bell Peninsula's irregular coastline is marked by five distinct points, some of which have notable archaeological sites. Mount Minto

Mount Minto (Nunavut)

Mount Minto is a mountain located on northern Bell Peninsula, Southampton Island, in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. From eastward, it has a conical shape....

, in the north, is the highest peak. The Back Peninsula

Back Peninsula

The Back Peninsula is a cape located on eastern Bell Peninsula, Southampton Island, in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. Its southern shore is part of the northern boundary of Hudson Bay. Foxe Basin is to the north. There are two large bays, Gorden Bay and Junction Bay. Bowhead whale frequent the...

 is on the eastern end of the Bell Peninsula.

History

The peninsula is named in honor of John Bell

John Bell (explorer)

John Bell was a Hudson's Bay Company governor and explorer.In 1839, he was sent to explore the land west of the Mackenzie River...

, Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 governor and explorer.

The Dorset culture

Dorset culture

The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...

 Sadlermiut

Sadlermiut

The Sadlermiut were an Eskimo group living in near isolation mainly on and around Coats Island, Walrus Island, and Southampton Island in Hudson Bay...

 lived on the Bell Peninsula and elsewhere on Southampton Island until disease drove them to extinction in 1902. Thereafter, Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 arrived. The Native Point

Native Point

Native Point is a peninsula in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on Southampton Island's Bell Peninsula at the mouth of Native Bay.-Archaeological site:...

 archaeological site, located on the peninsula's Native Bay

Native Bay

Native Bay is a waterway in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Hudson Bay off western Southampton Island. The Bell Peninsula lies to the southeast. Native Point is located at the bay's southern tip...

 is the largest Sadlermiut site on the island.

In 1910, Captain George Comer

George Comer

Captain George Comer was considered the most famous American whaling captain of Hudson Bay, and the world's foremost authority on Hudson Bay Inuit in the early 20th century....

re-charted Southampton Island and rectified the mistake on previous maps that depicted the peninsula as an island.