Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part 1 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Sector Theory
- Part 2 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago as Historic Waters
- Part 3 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Straight Baselines
- Part 4 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Northwest Passage
- 12 Description of the Northwest Passage
- 13 Use of the Northwest Passage
- 14 Legal status of the Northwest Passage
- Notes
- General Conclusion
- Appendix A The 1825 Boundary Treaty, Great Britain and Russia
- Appendix B The 1867 Boundary Treaty, United States and Russia
- Selected bibliography
- Index
12 - Description of the Northwest Passage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part 1 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Sector Theory
- Part 2 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago as Historic Waters
- Part 3 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Straight Baselines
- Part 4 The Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Northwest Passage
- 12 Description of the Northwest Passage
- 13 Use of the Northwest Passage
- 14 Legal status of the Northwest Passage
- Notes
- General Conclusion
- Appendix A The 1825 Boundary Treaty, Great Britain and Russia
- Appendix B The 1867 Boundary Treaty, United States and Russia
- Selected bibliography
- Index
Summary
According to the Sailing Directions of Arctic Canada, ‘the Northwest Passage spans the North American Arctic from Davis Strait and Baffin Bay in the east to Bering Strait in the west’. Although this represents the traditional definition of the Northwest Passage, the present discussion will limit the meaning of the Passage to the constricted waters within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago between Baffin Bay in the east and the Beaufort Sea in the west. Under the present definition, the latter bodies of water form part of the approaches to the Northwest Passage.
Approaches to the Northwest Passage
Eastern approaches
The Labrador Sea, Davis Strait and Baffin Bay constitute the eastern approaches to the Northwest Passage. The ice conditions in Davis Strait and Baffin Bay are mainly controlled by a warm current flowing north along the west coast of Greenland and a cold current flowing south along the coast of Baffin Island, as well as by a major polynya or open water area at the northern end of Baffin Bay.
A special feature affecting the navigation conditions of the eastern approaches is the presence of icebergs, calved mostly from the northwestern part of Greenland but partly also from smaller glaciers on Ellesmere and Devon Islands. Icebergs drift southward mainly with the cold Canadian current and, consequently, are found in greater numbers along the Canadian coast. Some of the glaciers rise to 300 feet above sea level and constitute a considerable hazard to navigation.
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- Information
- Canada's Arctic Waters in International Law , pp. 187 - 201Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1988