Gulf of Boothia
The Gulf of Boothia /ˈbuːθiə/ is a body of water in Nunavut, Canada. Administratively it is divided between the Kitikmeot Region on the west and the Qikiqtaaluk Region on the east. It merges north into Prince Regent Inlet, the two forming a single bay with different names for its parts. It is surrounded by, clockwise, Baffin Island, Fury and Hecla Strait, the Melville Peninsula, the Canadian mainland, the Boothia Peninsula and perhaps Bellot Strait if the Gulf can be said to extend that far north. The south end is Committee Bay, northwest of which are the Simpson Peninsula and Pelly Bay. In addition to its connection to Prince Regent Inlet one can use an icebreaker to go east through the Fury and Hecla Strait, or, with luck, pass the Bellot Strait westward.
In 1822, it was seen by some of William Edward Parry's men, who went on foot along the ice-choked Fury and Hecla Strait. In 1829, it was entered by John Ross, who was frozen in for four years and named it for his patron Sir Felix Booth. Its south end was explored by John Rae in 1846–1847, who reached it overland from the south.
Further reading
- Barber, D. G., and J. Iacozza. 2004. "Historical Analysis of Sea Ice Conditions in M'Clintock Channel and the Gulf of Boothia, Nunavut: Implications for Ringed Seal and Polar Bear Habitat". Arctic. 57: 1-14.
- Collin, A. E. An Oceanographic Study of Prince Regent Inlet, the Gulf of Boothia and Adjacent Waters. [S.l.]: Atlantic Oceanographic Group, 1958.
- Markham, Albert Hastings, and Sherard Osborn. A Whaling Cruise to Baffin's Bay and the Gulf of Boothia. And an Account of the Rescue of the Crew of the "Polaris.". London: S. Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1875.
