The Wollaston Peninsula is located on southwestern Victoria Island, Canada

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...

. Most of the peninsula lies in 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...

's Kitikmeot Region

Kitikmeot Region

Kitikmeot Region can refer to:* Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, a region of Nunavut.* Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories, a region of the Northwest Territories until 1999, with similar but non-coterminal boundaries to the above....

, bordered by the Dolphin and Union Strait

Dolphin and Union Strait

Dolphin and Union Strait lies in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, between the mainland and Victoria Island. It links Amundsen Gulf, lying to the northwest, with Coronation Gulf, lying to the southeast...

 to the south. A smaller portion lies within the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

's Inuvik Region, bordered by the Amundsen Gulf

Amundsen Gulf

Amundsen Gulf is a gulf located in Canadian Northwest Territories, between Banks Island and Victoria Island and the mainland . It is approximately in length and about across where it meets the Beaufort Sea....

 to the west, and Prince Albert Sound

Prince Albert Sound

Prince Albert Sound is a Northern Canadian body of water located in the Inuvik Region of southwestern Victoria Island, Northwest Territories. It is an inlet of Amundsen Gulf. The sound separates the Wollaston Peninsula from the island’s central areas.Prince Albert Sound is long and ...

 to the north. The peninsula is 225 km (139.8 mi) long, and between 97 kilometre wide. Its western most point is Cape Baring.

In 1826, the area was discovered by Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 officer Edward Nicholas Kendall

Edward Nicholas Kendall

Edward Nicholas "Ned" Kendall, R.N. was an English hydrographer, Royal Navy officer, and polar explorer. During one of his Arctic expeditions, Kendall discovered Wollaston Land.-Early years:...

 and was named Wollaston Land, in honor of William Hyde Wollaston

William Hyde Wollaston

William Hyde Wollaston FRS was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore.-Biography:...

, by John Richardson

John Richardson (naturalist)

Sir John Richardson was a Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and arctic explorer.Richardson was born at Dumfries. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, and became a surgeon in the navy in 1807. He traveled with John Franklin in search of the Northwest Passage on the Coppermine Expedition of...

. It was later changed to Wollaston Peninsula by the Geographical Names Board of Canada

Geographical Names Board of Canada

Geographical Names Board of Canada is a national committee of the Canadian Government Department of Natural Resources which authorizes the names used on official federal government maps of Canada since 1897. The board consists of 27 members including one from each of the provinces and territories...

.