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Baffin Island ((イヌクティトゥット語:ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ, Qikiqtaaluk) , (フランス語:Île de Baffin or Terre de Baffin), Old Norse: ''Helluland''), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000 (2007 estimate). Named after English explorer William Baffin, it is likely that the island was known to Pre-Columbian Norse explorers from Greenland and Iceland and may be the location of ''Helluland'', spoken of in the Icelandic sagas (the Grœnlendinga saga and the Saga of Erik the Red, Eiríks saga rauða). == Geography == Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is located on the southeastern coast. Until 1987, the town shared the name Frobisher Bay with the bay on which it is located.〔(About Iqaluit: History )〕 To the south lies Hudson Strait, separating Baffin Island from mainland Quebec.〔(Hudson Strait )〕 South of the western end of the island is the Fury and Hecla Strait〔(Fury and Hecla Strait )〕 which separates the island from the Melville Peninsula〔(Melville Peninsula )〕 on the mainland. To the east are Davis Strait〔(Davis Strait )〕 and Baffin Bay,〔(Baffin Bay ) with Greenland to the east〕 with Greenland beyond.〔 The Foxe Basin,〔(Foxe Basin )〕 the Gulf of Boothia〔(Gulf of Boothia )〕 and Lancaster Sound〔(Lancaster Sound )〕 separate Baffin Island from the rest of the archipelago to the west and north. The Baffin Mountains run along the northeastern shore of the island and are a part of the Arctic Cordillera. Mount Odin is the highest peak, with an elevation of at least , although some sources say .〔(Mount Odin at the Atlas of Canada )〕 Another peak of note is Mount Asgard, located in Auyuittuq National Park, with an elevation of . Mount Thor, with an elevation of , is said to have the greatest purely vertical drop of any mountain on Earth, at .〔(Mount Thor -The Greatest Vertical Drop on Earth! )〕 The two largest lakes on the island lie in the south-central part of the island: Nettilling Lake () and Amadjuak Lake () further south.〔(Nunavut - Lake Areas and Elevation (lakes larger than 400 square kilometres) )〕〔(Nettilling Lake location )〕〔(Amadjuak Lake location )〕 The Barnes Ice Cap, in the middle of the island, has been retreating since at least the early 1960s, when the Geographical Branch of the then-Department of Mines and Technical Surveys sent a three-man survey team to the area to measure isostatic rebound and cross-valley features of the Isortoq River. Conversely, in the 1970s parts of Baffin Island failed to have the usual ice-free period in the summer.〔Cora Cheney, ''Crown of The World'', Dodd, Merad, and Company, New York, 1979.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Baffin Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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