Baffin Bay | |
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Coordinates | 73°N 67°W / 73°N 67°WCoordinates: 73°N 67°W / 73°N 67°W |
Max. length | 1,450 km (901 mi) |
Max. width | 110–650 km (68–404 mi) |
Surface area | 689,000 km2 (266,000 sq mi) |
Average depth | 861 m (2,825 ft) |
Max. depth | 2,136 m (7,008 ft) |
Water volume | 593,000 km3 (142,300 cu mi) |
References |
Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: Saknirutiak Imanga;Greenlandic: Avannaata Imaa;French: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea. The narrower Nares Strait connects Baffin Bay with the Arctic Ocean. The bay is not navigable most of the year because of the ice cover and high density of floating ice and icebergs in the open areas. However, a polynya of about 80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi), known as the North Water, opens in summer on the north near Smith Sound. Most of the aquatic life of the bay is concentrated near that region.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of Baffin Bay as follows:
On the North. A line from Cape Sheridan, Grant Land (82°35′N 60°45′W / 82.583°N 60.750°W) to Cape Bryant, Greenland.