The Mapping of Canada’s Arctic Islands

• Published in: The Canadian Surveyor
• Main Author: Wonders, William C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1982
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; General Engineering; General Environmental Science; Arctic; Stefansson
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/tcs-1982-0008; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/tcs-1982-0008

It is now well established that the Vikings were the first Europeans to explore Canada’s Arctic Islands, but these early travelers left no maps and it was not until the voyage of Marlin Frobisher, in 1576, that the four-century process of mapping this part of the world was begun. The south and east margins of the Islands were explored in the 17th century but a deeper penetration into the central Arctic had to wait for the stronger ships and steam propulsion of the 19th century. During the search for the lost Franklin Expedition of 1845, most of the islands were discovered and explored, except those in the extreme north. The last major pieces in the map were put into place by the Norwegian explorer, Otto Sverdrup, and the Canadian, Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Minor additions and corrections to the map were still being made in the decade following World War II.