Cape Murchison, located on this peninsula, is the extreme northern point of mainland Canada and, accordingly, North America. This is one of the extreme northern points of the earth. The distance from this place to the North Pole is 64 kilometers.
In the article, you can briefly get acquainted with this peculiar harsh terrain and find out where Boutia Peninsula is located and what it is.
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The largest islands that make up this archipelago are:
- Baffin Land with an area of 476 thousand square meters. kilometers
- Ellesmere Island (area 203 thousand sq. km),
- Victoria Island (more than 213 thousand sq. km).
The region includes two more, protruding far to the north, small peninsulas - Butia and Melville. In the central part of the Arctic Archipelago, on Bathurst Island, one of the two main earth magnetic poles is located.
A bit of history
This area was discovered by the famous navigator, polar British explorer John Ross, during the passage of an important expedition of 1829-1833. The name was given to him in honor of Felix Booth (the brewer), who became the sponsor of this long trip.
On the western side of the Booth peninsula, the nephew of James Ross discovered the North Magnetic Pole. By Royal Amudsen (a famous explorer from Norway) in 1909, a sleigh trip was made along the west coast of Butia. Another Canadian traveler Henry Larsen (Arctic explorer) in 1940 examined the entire territory of the peninsula during a scientific trip along the Northwest Passage from 1940 to 1942.
Location
The Butia Peninsula is located in North America. Initially, it was called Butia Felix.
This place is the Canadian Arctic, located south of the island of Somerset. Glorious Peninsula Cape Murchison. The island is separated from mainland Canada by a chain of large lakes, and from Somerset by the Bello Strait, which is about two kilometers long. On its territory there is a small village Talloyoak, famous for the fact that it is the only settlement in these vast northern latitudes.
Description of the peninsula and surroundings
The relief of the Butia Peninsula (Canada) is a mountain plateau, the height of which reaches more than 500 meters, and it is surrounded by spacious coastal plains. The area of the island is 32, 300 square meters. kilometers.
The peninsula is attached to the mainland by an isthmus, almost torn by deep large lakes and two large bays. The peninsula is washed by Butia Bay and the Franklin Strait. The second separates the peninsula from the southeast coast of the Prince of Wales island, also part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. To the east, through Butia Bay, is the largest island in the archipelago of Baffin Island.
It should be noted that the water temperature of the Arctic Ocean on the surface of Butia Bay (length 518 kilometers, 220 kilometers wide) in August is up to 1 ° Celsius. Throughout the year it is covered with ice, thinning only in the last summer month. The vegetation on the peninsula is tundra.
A bit about extreme points
Canada covers almost half of the mainland North America. The most extreme points of the territory of this state and the mainland coincide in the east and in the north. The eastern edge is Cape St. Charles (52 degrees 24 minutes north latitude, 55 degrees 40 minutes west longitude). It is located near the city of Toronto and is a ledge of the Labrador Peninsula.
Do not confuse the extreme points of Canada and, accordingly, North America with similar points in the United States. The northernmost point of the mainland is Cape Murchison, located in the Arctic. It belongs to the territory of Canada and is one of the extreme points of the planet Earth, not counting Greenland.
Cape Murchison
The cape belongs to the Canadian region of Kitikmeot. It is the southern shore of Bello, located between Somerset Island and the Butia Peninsula. The strait is named after Joseph Rene Murchison, who first thoroughly examined this peninsula. The search for traces of John Franklin, lost in the Arctic, prompted the French explorer-traveler to study these places in 1852.
This harsh area is surrounded almost all year round by permafrost. The coordinates of the cape are 71 degrees. 50 minutes north latitude, 94 degrees. 45 minutes west longitude.
Taloyoak
This small village is located on the southern territory of the Butia Peninsula, 128 kilometers southwest of the city of Nunavut. You can get to the village by plane through the airport of the same name, located at a distance of just over one kilometer west of Taloyoak. At the end of summer, for several weeks you can go by water to the neighboring towns of Kugaaruk and Joa Haven. There are no automobile roads to the village.
The village until the middle of summer 1992 was called Spence Bay. The population is 809 people (as of 2006).
To the north of Taloyoak is a huge stone, compared to the famous Uluru rock located in Australia.
