Fury and Hecla Strait is a narrow (from 2 to 20 km (1.2 to 12.4 mi)) channel of water located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Situated between Baffin Island to the north and the Melville Peninsula to the south, it connects Foxe Basin on the east with the Gulf of Boothia on the west.
The first European to see it was William Edward Parry in 1822. It used to be always covered in ice, making the navigation difficult. The first transit (west to east) was by icebreaker in the middle of the 20th century. In the summer of 2016 the strait was transited east to west for the first time, by David Scott Cowper.
The Strait is named after the Royal Navy ships HMS Fury, commanded by Perry, and HMS Hecla.
On November 2, 2016, CBC News reported that residents were describing a hum or buzz, coming from deep within the Fury and Hecla Strait—near Steensby Inlet where Baffinland has one of its ports.
Paul Quassa, Igloolik's representative to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, said the hum had been disturbing the sea mammals community members rely on for food. The hum is very loud, so loud the complement of vessels transiting the straits can hear it transmitted through the hulls, without any electronic aids. The Royal Canadian Air Force sent a Lockheed CP-140 Aurora to the area but were unable to detect the noise or the source.
Coordinates: 69°49′59″N 083°00′00″W / 69.83306°N 83.00000°W