Frozen Strait is an Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

 waterway located in 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...

's 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...

 between the Melville Peninsula

Melville Peninsula

Melville Peninsula is a large peninsula in the Canadian Arctic. Since 1999, it has been part of Nunavut. Before that, it was part of the District of Franklin. It's separated from Southampton Island by Frozen Strait. The narrow isthmus connecting the peninsula to the mainland is styled the “Rae...

 and 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...

. It connects Repulse Bay

Repulse Bay, Nunavut

Repulse Bay is an Inuit hamlet located on the shore of Hudson Bay, Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut, Canada.-Location and wildlife:The hamlet is located exactly on the Arctic Circle, on the north shore of Repulse Bay and on the south shore of the Rae Isthmus. Transport to the community is provided...

 with Roes Welcome Sound. The strait is 80 km (49.7 mi) long, and 19 km (11.8 mi) to 32 km (19.9 mi) wide.

It was first surveyed by the English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 Capt. Christopher Middleton, searching for 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...

 on the Furnace in 1742. In W. Gillies Ross' 1974 study Distribution, Migration, and Depletion of Bowhead Whales in Hudson Bay, 1860 to 1915, he suggests that bowhead whales appeared to migrate in the spring and fall through Roes Welcome Sound

Roes Welcome Sound

Roes Welcome Sound is an Arctic Ocean waterway in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Foxe Basin and opens north to Repulse Bay. It is situated between the mainland and Southampton Island, north of Marble Island. Roes Welcome Sound measures long, and wide.It is named after Sir...

, but the possibility of migration through Frozen Strait cannot be ruled out.