Barrow Strait is a shipping waterway

Waterway

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...

 in Northern Canada's

Northern Canada

Northern Canada, colloquially the North, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut...

 territory of Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

. Forming part of the Parry Channel

Parry Channel

The Parry Channel is a natural waterway through thecentral Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. It runs east to west, connecting Baffin Bay in the east with the Beaufort Sea in the west. The channel separates the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the north from the rest of...

, the strait separates several large islands including Cornwallis Island and Devon Island

Devon Island

Devon Island , claimed to be the largest uninhabited island on Earth, is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada's sixth largest island, and the 27th...

 to the north, from Prince of Wales Island, Somerset Island, and Prince Leopold Island to the south.

The first 30 mi (48.3 km) of its eastern section has no islands, commonly does not freeze until the end of November, nor consolidate until the end of December. Garrett Island, Lowther Island

Lowther Island

Lowther Island lies within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is one of the mid-channel islands in the western sector of Barrow Strait. Bathurst Island and Cornwallis Island are to the north, while Prince of Wales Island is to the...

, Young Island, Hamilton Island, and Russell Island lay south of Bathurst Island. Browne Island, Somerville Island, and Griffith Island

Griffith Island (Nunavut)

Griffith Island lies within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is one of the mid-channel islands in the western sector of Barrow Strait....

 lay southwest of Cornwallis Island. Beechy Island lays off of Devon Island.

From its eastern junction with Lancaster Sound

Lancaster Sound

Lancaster Sound is a body of water in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern portion of the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay; to the west lies Viscount Melville Sound...

 to its western junction with Viscount Melville Sound

Viscount Melville Sound

Viscount Melville Sound is an arm of the Arctic Ocean in Kitikmeot, Nunavut, Canada. Forming part of the Parry Channel, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Queen Elizabeth Islands. East of the sound lies Lancaster Sound, leading into Baffin Bay; westward lies the...

, the strait measures 170 mi (273.6 km) long. Its eastern mouth, between Prince Leopold Island, and Cape Hurd on Devon Island, is 28 mi (45.1 km) wide. Its western mouth, at Cape Cockburn, southwestern Bathurst Island

Bathurst Island

A member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Bathurst Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Territory, Canada. The area of the island is estimated at , making it the 54th largest island in the world and Canada's 13th largest island. It is uninhabited.The island is low-lying with...

, is 66 mi (106.2 km) wide.

Habitat for Arctic fox

Arctic fox

The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...

, birds, polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

, ringed seal

Ringed Seal

The ringed seal , also known as the jar seal and as netsik or nattiq by the Inuit, is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions...

, and whales is located along the ice edge, near Leopold Island, while consolidated ice in the strait's central and western sections provides a bridge for caribou

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

crossing.