Franklin Island is one of three islands located in Kennedy Channel

Kennedy Channel

Kennedy Channel is an Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's most northerly island, Ellesmere Island.It forms part of Nares Strait, linking Kane Basin with Hall Basin. From the south, its beginning is marked by Capes Lawrence and Jackson; its junction with Hall Basin is marked by Capes...

 of Nares Strait

Nares Strait

Nares Strait is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that is the northern part of Baffin Bay where it meets the Lincoln Sea. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin and Robeson Channel...

 in the high Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 and is part of Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

. Its two sister islands are Crozier Island

Crozier Island

Crozier Island is one of three islands located in Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic, and is part of Greenland. Its two sister islands are Franklin Island and Hans Island. The former is also part of Greenland, whilst the latter's ownership is disputed between Greenland and...

 and Hans Island

Hans Island

Hans Island is a small, uninhabited barren knoll measuring , located in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait—the strait that separates Ellesmere Island from northern Greenland and connects Baffin Bay with the Lincoln Sea...

. The former is also part of Greenland, whilst the latter's ownership is disputed between Denmark and 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 the largest of these three islands. It is located c.

Circa

Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Cape Constitution . It is predominantly light brown in color, very steep-sided, flat topped, and rises to a height of 215 m (705 ft) on the Southeast side.

It is named after the British explorer John Franklin

John Franklin

Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...

 (1786–1847), by Elisha Kent Kane between 1854 and 1855 during his second Grinnell Expedition

Second Grinnell Expedition

The Second Grinnell Expedition of 1853 was an American effort, financed by Henry Grinnell, to determine the fate of the Franklin's lost expedition. Led by Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the team explored areas northwest of Greenland, now called Grinnell Land...

, after it was sighted by Hans Hendrik

Hans Hendrik

Hans Hendrik, also known as Hans Christian, native name Suersaq , was a Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter, born in the southern settlement of Fiskernaes .-Supporting the Kane Expedition:...

 and the American William Morton

William Morton

William Morton may refer to:* William T.G. Morton , American dentist, the first to use ether anesthesia* William Morton , American boxer, see Boxing at the 1955 Pan American Games* William Morton , Scottish cricketer...

in June 1854.