Cornwall Island is a small island in the high arctic region of the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 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...

. To the north, it is separated from Amund Ringnes Island

Amund Ringnes Island

Amund Ringnes Island is one of the Sverdrup Islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Arctic Ocean, between 78 and 79 degrees of latitude. It lies east of Ellef Ringnes Island, west of Axel Heiberg Island. Hassel Sound separates Amund Ringnes Island from Ellef Ringnes...

 by Hendriksen Strait. To the south, it is separated from 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...

 by Belcher Channel. It is the largest of six islands (the others being Buckingham

Buckingham Island

Buckingham Island is a Canadian arctic island located in Norwegian Bay in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The island lies immediately southwest of Graham Island and east of Cornwall Island. Buckingham Island is wide and has an area of . It is a part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.Its highest...

, Ekins

Ekins Island

Ekins Island is an uninhabited island within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. It lies in Norwegian Bay, north of Devon Island, and is also south of Cornwall Island, separated by Belcher Channel. Table Island is located about to the northeast.-References:*...

, Exmouth, Graham Island, and Table

Table Island

Table Island is an uninhabited island within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. It lies in Norwegian Bay, north of Devon Island, and is also south Cornwall Island, separated by Belcher Channel. Ekins Island is a small islet about to the southwest.-References:*...

) in the Norwegian Bay

Norwegian Bay

Norwegian Bay is an Arctic ocean waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region. Nunavut, Canada. Amund Ringnes Island is to the northwest , and Axel Heiberg Island to the north , Ellesmere Island is to the east, and Devon Island is to the south...

, west of Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...

.

Cornwall Island measures about 90 km (55.9 mi) long and 30 km (18.6 mi) wide, and has an area of 2358 km² (910.4 sq mi).

The tallest peaks are McLeod Head at 400 m (1,312.3 ft), and Mount Nicolay at 290 m (951.4 ft), both on the north coast. Coast features include Northeast Point and Gordon Head to the east; Pell Point and Cape O'Brien to the south; and Cape Butler in the southwest.

The first known sighting of the island was by Sir Edward Belcher

Edward Belcher

Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, KCB , was a British naval officer and explorer. He was the great-grandson of Governor Jonathan Belcher. His wife, Diana Jolliffe, was the stepdaughter of Captain Peter Heywood.-Early life:...

on 30 August 1852 and was named in honour of Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.

Further reading