Bellot Strait

Bellot Strait is a strait in Nunavut that separates Somerset Island on the north from the Boothia Peninsula on the south. At its eastern end is the Murchison Promontory, the northernmost part of mainland North America. The two-kilometre-wide (1.2 mi) and 25-kilometre-long (16 mi) strait connects the Gulf of Boothia and Prince Regent Inlet on the east with Peel Sound and Franklin Strait on the west.

Fort Ross, located on the strait's northern shore

Geography
The strait's western end

The north side of the strait rises steeply to approximately 450 metres (1,480 ft), and the south shore to approximately 750 metres (2,460 ft). The current in the strait can run at up to 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) and often changes its direction. It is also often filled with small icebergs which pose a danger to ships in the strait.

History
Travelling from west to east through Bellot Strait (western end) on MS Ocean Endeavour, September 2019

The first Europeans to see the strait were William Kennedy and Joseph René Bellot, who reached it by dogsled from Batty Bay in 1852. This proved that Somerset was an island and that Prince Regent Inlet had a difficult westward exit.

In 1858, Francis Leopold McClintock tried to pass the strait but had to abandon the attempt. The strait was first crossed from west to east by the Hudson's Bay Company ship Aklavik in 1937, piloted by Scotty Gall. Henry Larsen crossed it in 1942 on the first west-east transit of the Northwest Passage.

The Fort Ross trading post on the northern shore was established in 1937, and lasted for 11 years. However, the building has been refurbished and strengthened, and acts as a refuge for researchers and crews of small boats passing through.

Sources

Bibliography
  • Finley, K. J.; Johnston, W. G. (1977). An investigation of the distribution of marine mammals in the vicinity of Somerset Island. Toronto: LGL Limited. OCLC 41817456.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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