The Queen Elizabeth Islands
Queen Elizabeth Islands, the northernmost islands of North America. They include all the Canadian Arctic islands north of the channel extending from M'Clure Strait to Lancaster Sound. The Queen Elizabeth Islands form a triangle, about 725 miles (1,170 km) wide at its southern base and narrowing to a point within 500 miles (800 km) of the North Pole.
Including the large islands Ellesmere, Devon, Melville, and Axel Heiberg, the Queen Elizabeth Islands have a land area of some 162,000 square miles (419,000 km2). They rise to about 8,500 feet (2,600 m) above sea level in places, and large areas are covered with ice. Explorations have indicated the presence of oil deposits. The islands are part of Nunavut, a Canadian territory.