Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada.
Nunavut
Greenland
Quebec
Newfoundland and Labrador
Manitoba
Ontario
Nova Scotia
The Hudson's Bay Company ships
Prince of Wales and
Eddystone bartering with the
Inuit off the Upper Savage Islands, Hudson Strait; by Robert Hood (1819)
Drift ice in Hudson Strait, late June 2014
Hudson Strait links the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and the northern coast of Quebec, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Quebec and Resolution Island off Baffin Island. The strait is about 450 mi (720 km) long. Its width varies from 150 mi (240 km) at its largest point, to a minimum of 40 mi (64 km).[1][2]
Hudson Strait (known previously as the Furious Overfall) was partly explored in 1578 by Sir Martin Frobisher, the English navigator. It was later fully explored by English explorer Henry Hudson in 1610 on the English ship Discovery. Hudson Strait links the northern seaports of Manitoba and Ontario with the Atlantic Ocean. It could be an eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage were it not for ice in the Fury and Hecla Strait south of western Baffin Island.
Extent
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Hudson Strait as follows:[3]
- On the West.A line from Nuvuk Point (62°21′N 78°06′W / 62.350°N 78.100°W / 62.350; -78.100) to Leyson Point, thence by the Eastern shore of Southampton Island to Seahorse Point, its Eastern extreme, thence a line to Lloyd Point (64°25′N 78°07′W / 64.417°N 78.117°W / 64.417; -78.117) Baffin Island.
- On the North. The South coast of Baffin Island between Lloyd Point and East Bluff.
- On the East. A line from East Bluff, the Southeast extreme of Baffin Island (61°53′N 65°57′W / 61.883°N 65.950°W / 61.883; -65.950), to Point Meridian, the Western extreme of Lower Savage Islands, along the coast to its Southwestern extreme and thence a line across to the Western extreme of Resolution Island, through its Southwestern shore to Hatton Headland, its Southern point, thence a line to Cape Chidley, Labrador (60°24′N 64°26′W / 60.400°N 64.433°W / 60.400; -64.433).
- On the South. The mainland between Cape Chidley and Nuvuk Point.
References
Further reading
- Allard, Michel, Baolai Wang, and Jean A Pilon. 1995. "Recent Cooling Along the Southern Shore of Hudson Strait, Quebec, Canada, Documented from Permafrost Temperature Measurements". Arctic and Alpine Research. 27, no. 2: 157.
- Andrews, J. T., and D. C. Barber1. 2002. "Dansgaard-Oeschger Events: Is There a Signal Off the Hudson Strait Ice Stream?" Quaternary Science Reviews. 21, no. 1-3: 443–454.
- Barr, W. 1994. "The Eighteenth Century Trade between the Ships of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Hudson Strait Inuit". Arctic. 47, no. 3: 236.
- Campbell, N. J. The Oceanography of Hudson Strait. [S.l.]: Atlantic Oceanographic Group, 1958.
- Easton, A. K. Tides of Hudson Strait. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia: Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1972.
- Gaston, A. J. Seabird Investigations in Hudson Strait Report on Activities in 1980. OLABS Program report. [Canada]: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1981.
- Payne, F. F. Eskimo of Hudson's Strait. Toronto?: s.n.], 1889. ISBN 0-665-09301-2
- 2005. "A Sentry at the Atlantic Gateway – An Experimental Mooring Monitors Water Flow Through Strategic Hudson Strait". Oceanus. 44, no. 3: 30.
Coordinates: 62°29′36″N 071°57′43″W / 62.49333°N 71.96194°W / 62.49333; -71.96194 (Hudson Strait)