Meighen Island is an uninhabited member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands

Queen Elizabeth Islands

The Queen Elizabeth Islands are the northernmost cluster of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, split between Nunavut and Northwest Territories in Northern Canada.-Geography:...

, part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

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...

, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region 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...

, Canada. Located at 79°55'N 99°30'W, it measures 955 km² (368.7 sq mi) in size and is topped with an ice cap

Ice cap

An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area . Masses of ice covering more than 50 000 km² are termed an ice sheet....

. The island is continuously icebound, and its northwestern coast faces onto the open 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...

. The first known sighting of the island was in 1916, during the Canadian Arctic Expedition

Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-1916

The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–1916 was organized and led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The expedition was divided into a Northern Party led by Stefansson, and a Southern Party led by R M. Anderson. The objective of the Northern Party was to explore for new land north and west of the known lands...

 by Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnologist.-Early life:Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had emigrated from Iceland to Manitoba two years earlier...

, and later named after Arthur Meighen

Arthur Meighen

Arthur Meighen, PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding...

, Canadian prime minister. Unlike many Canadian Arctic islands, no traces of 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...

 or Thule

Thule people

The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...

 camps have been found, suggesting the island has never been occupied, and this is likely due to its extreme northern latitude.

Meighen Island has few neighbours. It is about 40 km (24.9 mi) west of the next nearest major island, Axel Heiberg Island

Axel Heiberg Island

Axel Heiberg Island is an island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 31st largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According to Statistics Canada, it has an area of ....

. About 4 km (2.5 mi) to Meighen's north, across the Hose Strait, lies small crescent-shaped Perley Island. The Fay Islands

Fay Islands

The Fay Islands are part of the Sverdrup Islands in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, they are also members of the Queen Elizabeth Islands and Canadian Arctic Archipelago. They lie within the Sverdrup Channel between Meighen Island and the west coast of Axel Heiberg...

 lie between Meighen Island and Axel Heiberg Island within the Sverdrup Channel

Sverdrup Channel

The Sverdrup Channel is an area of sea in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago within the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. To the north-west of the channel is Meighen Island, to the east is Axel Heiberg Island, and to the south is Amund Ringnes Island. The Fay Islands are located in the channel....

.