Bellot Strait

Bellot Strait

The Bellot Strait is located in Nunavut, which separates Somerset Island in the north from the Boothia Peninsula south of Murchison Promontory, the northernmost part of the Americas. The strait, two kilometers wide and 25 kilometers long, connects Gulf of Boothia, Prince Regent Inlet and Brentford Bay on the east with Peel Sound and Franklin Strait on the west. The northern side of the strait rises steeply to about 450 meters, and the southern side to about 750 meters. In the strait, the current can reach speeds of up to 15 km/h and changes direction frequently. Small icebergs often fill up, posing a danger to ships navigating in the strait. William Kennedy, a Canadian explorer, and Joseph René Bellot, a French naval officer, were the first Europeans to see the Straits, having made the journey from Batty Bay in 1852 by dog sled. This showed that Somerset was an island and that the western exit from Prince Regent Inlet was difficult. Located on the north coast, the Fort Ross trading post was established in 1937 and operated for 11 years. It has since been renovated and fortified, and is now a shelter for researchers and crews of small boats passing through.