Ellesmere Island

Island in the extreme northeast of the Arctic Archipelago, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut; area 196,236 sq km/75,767 sq mi; population (2006) 120. It is the second-largest island in the archipelago and is part of the Queen Elizabeth island group, at the northern end of Baffin Bay. Its northern tip, Cape Columbia, is the most northerly point of the North American continent. The island is, for the most part, barren or glacier-covered. Industries include oil and gas exploration, and tourism. The island is also a base for scientific and military operations.

Ellesmere Island was first sighted by English explorer and navigator William Baffin in 1616.

Quttinirpaaq National Park (1988), focused around Lake Hazen, covers 37,775 sq km/14,585 sq mi of the north of the island. Coburg Island and the surrounding waters, off the southeast coast, was proclaimed the Nirjutiqavvik National Wildlife Area in 1995.