Byam Martin Island is one of the Canadian arctic islands

Canadian Arctic Archipelago

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Arctic Archipelago, is a Canadian archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic...

 located on the northern side of the Viscount Melville Sound

Viscount Melville Sound

Viscount Melville Sound is an arm of the Arctic Ocean in Kitikmeot, Nunavut, Canada. Forming part of the Parry Channel, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Queen Elizabeth Islands. East of the sound lies Lancaster Sound, leading into Baffin Bay; westward lies the...

 in the territory of 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...

. It is separated from the eastern coast of Melville Island

Melville Island, Canada

Melville Island is a vast, uninhabited member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago with an area of . It is the 33rd largest island in the world and Canada's eighth largest island. Melville Island is shared by the Northwest Territories, which is responsible for the western half of the island, and...

, 27 km (16.8 mi) to the west, by the Byam Martin Channel

Byam Martin Channel

The Byam Martin Channel is a natural waterway through the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It separates Mackenzie King Island and Melville Island from Lougheed Island, Cameron Island, Île Vanier, Massey Island and Île Marc . To the south it opens into Byam...

; and from Bathurst Island

Bathurst Island

A member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Bathurst Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Territory, Canada. The area of the island is estimated at , making it the 54th largest island in the world and Canada's 13th largest island. It is uninhabited.The island is low-lying with...

, 35 km (21.7 mi) to the northeast, by the Austin Channel

Austin Channel

The Austin Channel is a natural waterway through the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It separates Byam Martin Island from Melville Island and the Alexander and Bathurst Islands...

.

Byam Martin Island is 46 km (28.6 mi) long, 37 km (23 mi) wide, and measures 1150 km² (444 sq mi) in area.

The island was named after Sir Thomas Byam Martin

Thomas Byam Martin

Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin, GCB was a highly influential British Royal Navy officer who served at sea during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and then as a naval administrator until his death in 1854...

 by Sir William Edward Parry

William Edward Parry

Sir William Edward Parry was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole...

 in August 1819 during his first expedition to discover the Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

.