Banks Island
These moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer images from June 14 and 16, 2002, show Banks Island (upper left) and Victoria Island (to the southeast)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Beaufort Sea |
| Coordinates | 73°00′N 121°30′W / 73.000°N 121.500°WCoordinates: 73°00′N 121°30′W / 73.000°N 121.500°W |
| Archipelago | Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
| Area | 70,028 km2 (27,038 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 24th |
| Length | 380 km (236 mi) |
| Width | 290 km (180 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 730 m (2,400 ft) |
| Highest point | Durham Heights |
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Canada
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| Territory | Northwest Territories |
| Largest settlement | Sachs Harbour |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 136 (2010) |
| Pop. density | 0.0016 /km2 (0.0041 /sq mi) |
Banks Island is one of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Situated in the Inuvik Region, and part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, of the Northwest Territories, it is separated from Victoria Island to its east by the Prince of Wales Strait and from the mainland by Amundsen Gulf to its south. The Beaufort Sea lies to its west, and to its northeast M'Clure Strait separates the island from Prince Patrick Island and Melville Island.
It is home to barren-ground caribou, polar bears, and birds such as robins and swallows. Over 68,000 muskoxen also live on the island, the majority of the world's population. As of the 2011 census it had a human population of 112, all in Sachs Harbour.
Pre-Dorset cultural sites have been found that date from approximately 1500 BCE but European contact came much later. In 1820 it was seen from Melville Island by Sir William Edward Parry and named "Banks Land" in honour of Sir Joseph Banks. However, during the later exploration of the area by the McClure Arctic Expedition the island was marked on their maps as "Baring Island". McClure's ship, the HMS Investigator, was frozen in Prince of Wales Strait. That spring he sent out sledging parties and determined that Banks Island was an island. In the following year he almost circumnavigated the island but was again frozen in at Mercy Bay where he and his crew spent the next three before making their escape across the ice.
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