The islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago lie north of the Canadian mainland, and for convenience in this discussion will include the large Boothia and Melville peninsulas. This sparsely vegetated and nearly unpeopled region is one of the great archipelagos of the world; it extends about 2500 km E to W and 2000 km from the mainland to the northern tip. Sea access to most of the islands is restricted, because of ice, to the summer season, and the “polar pack” ice of the Arctic Ocean presses the year round against the northwestern margin of the archipelago.
In the past the Arctic islands were inhabited only by Eskimos and very few others. Fur trapping and handicrafts were the principal economic activities. Since about 1960, however, the region has become increasingly active as the search for petroleum has accelerated, and this has resulted in a marked increase in services and accessibility.
Physiography and Structural Provinces
The generalized surface of the archipelago may be...
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Christie, R.L. (1975). Canada-arctic archipelago . In: World Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_22
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