Viscount Melville Sound
Encyclopedia
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 McClure Strait
and the Arctic Ocean
. The sound is a part of the Northwest Passage
.
In 1853, Edward Belcher
abandoned his ship, HMS Resolute, in the sound while searching for John Franklin
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...
in Kitikmeot
Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut
Kitikmeot Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island...
, 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...
. Forming part of the Parry Channel
Parry Channel
The Parry Channel is a natural waterway through thecentral Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. It runs east to west, connecting Baffin Bay in the east with the Beaufort Sea in the west. The channel separates the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the north from the rest of...
, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island
Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut
One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Prince of Wales Island is an Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada, lying between Victoria Island and Somerset Island and south of the Queen Elizabeth Islands....
from 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:...
. East of the sound
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
lies Lancaster Sound
Lancaster Sound
Lancaster Sound is a body of water in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern portion of the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay; to the west lies Viscount Melville Sound...
, leading into Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
; westward lies the McClure Strait
McClure Strait
The M'Clure Strait is a strait on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories. It forms the northwestern end of one of the routes through the Northwest Passage. The strait was named for Robert McClure, an Irish Arctic explorer serving in the Royal Navy...
and the 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 sound is a part of 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...
.
In 1853, Edward Belcher
Edward Belcher
Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, KCB , was a British naval officer and explorer. He was the great-grandson of Governor Jonathan Belcher. His wife, Diana Jolliffe, was the stepdaughter of Captain Peter Heywood.-Early life:...
abandoned his ship, HMS Resolute, in the sound while searching for 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...