Ellef Ringnes Island
- Terra MODIS
- 31 July 2006
- 20:45 UTC
Ellef Ringnes Island is a large island (11,295 km² in area) of the high Arctic regions, located within the
Sverdrup Islands group (a sub-group of the much larger Queen Elizabeth Islands group). The island lies 125 km north
from Bathurst Island and 150 km southwest, across the Peary Channel, from
Axel Heiberg Island. Its immediate neighbours include the smaller island of
Amund Ringnes, 46 km off the southeastern coast (at top-right in this image) across the
Hassel Sound, and King Christian Island (just visible beneath thick cloud cover) to the
southwest, across the Danish Strait.
Much of the island consists of a low terrain composed from sedimentary rocks. In addition, there are some eroded upland areas that form a low (240 m high) plateau in the central regions of the island. Maximum elevations are produced by large piercement domes — Isachsen Dome is the tallest at 260 m. There are four of these domes in total, including Dumbells Salt Dome, Malloch Dome and Hoodoo Dome.
image: MODIS rapid response project at nasa/goddard space flight center.
