Sverdrup Islands

Sverdrup Islands

NASA Landsat photo of the Sverdrup Islands From left to right: Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, and Axel Heiberg islands.
Geography
Location	Arctic Ocean
Coordinates	78°30′N 95°00′W / 78.500°N 95.000°W / 78.500; -95.000 (Sverdrup Islands)Coordinates: 78°30′N 95°00′W / 78.500°N 95.000°W / 78.500; -95.000 (Sverdrup Islands)
Archipelago	Queen Elizabeth Islands Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Major islands	Axel Heiberg, Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes
Area	66,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2,210 m (7,250 ft)
Highest point	Outlook Peak
Administration
Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	8 to 12 summer population
Pop. density	0.000015 /km2 (3.9E-5 /sq mi)

The Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island from 77° to 81° North and 85° to 106° West.

The islands are named after Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vessel Fram, although some were previously inhabited by Inuit people. Sverdrup claimed the islands for Norway, but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928. At that point, the Norwegian government raised the claim, primarily to use the islands as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United Kingdom over the status of two other islands: the Arctic Jan Mayen and the Antarctic Bouvet Island. On 11 November 1930, Norway recognized Canadian sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands. On 19 November 1930, the UK recognized Norwegian sovereignty over Jan Mayen.

The main islands of the group are Axel Heiberg Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Amund Ringnes Island, Cornwall Island, Graham Island, Meighen Island, King Christian Island, Stor Island, and the archipelago also includes a number of smaller islands in the surrounding waters. The only habitated place was Isachsen, a formerly manned weather station, 1948 through 1978, on Ellef Ringnes Island and McGill Arctic Research Station on Axel Heiberg Island (a research station occupied during the summer).