Coburg Island
- MODIS image
- 31 July 2006
- 17:30 UTC
Coburg Island lies at the eastern entrance into Jones Sound, with its
eastern shores facing the open waters of Baffin Bay; the Jones Sound separates Devon Island
(on the south) from Ellesmere Island (on the north). Coburg Island is located 20 km southeast,
across the Glacier Strait, from the Cape Tennyson region of southeastern Ellesmere Island and 30 km northeast, across the Lady
Ann Strait, from Cape Fitz Roy on Devon Island.
Coburg Island is approximately rectangular in shape — an outline that is broken by the large Marina Peninsula on the eastern coast — with a north to south length of 37 km and widths ranging from 6 km in the north to 22 km through the Marina Peninsula in the south. The island covers an area of 344 km². The interior is mountainous with a maximum elevation of 823 m above sea level, with average heights generally decreasing towards the south. Many areas of the coastline — particularly in the north, east and south — meet the sea in tall cliffs ranging from 100 m to over 300 m in height. Glaciers cover 225 km² (65%) of the island in permanent ice and snow — including the 10 km² Laika Ice Cap. Glaciers form much of the islands western coast.
The waters around Coburg Island play host to two large polynyas — open areas of sea that can remain ice-free (or with greatly reduced ice cover) year round. These are the Lady Ann Polynya located in the Lady Ann Strait to the south, and the North Water Polynya located in Baffin Bay to the north. The polynyas help to support large populations of breeding sea birds that nest on the cliffs of Coburg Island — one of the most important nesting sites in the Arctic Archipelago. Species found include 30,000 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), 160,000 pairs of Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia) nesting at Cambridge Point on the islands southern tip, and 3,000 pairs Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) nesting on the small offshore islet known as Princess Charlotte Monument. The polynyas also provide a migratory route for many species of marine mammal.
The islands prolific bird life and offshore feeding grounds are protected as the Nirjutiqavvik National Wildlife Area.
image: MODIS rapid response project at nasa/goddard space flight center.
