Banks Island

island in the Northwest Territories, Canada

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Banks Island is a large, remote island located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, situated in the Arctic Archipelago. It matters because it is an important part of Canada's Arctic territory and serves as habitat for wildlife, including musk oxen and migratory birds, while also being relevant to Arctic exploration and Indigenous presence in the region.

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Image: Wfm banks island.jpg

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Article

Banks Island is one of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago. Situated in the Inuvik Region, and part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is separated from Victoria Island to the east by the Prince of Wales Strait and from the mainland by Amundsen Gulf to its south. The Beaufort Sea lies to its west, and to its northeast M'Clure Strait separates the island from Prince Patrick Island and Melville Island.

It is home to at least fourteen mammal species including the Peary caribou, barren-ground caribou, and polar bears. At one time over 68,000 muskoxen lived on the island, the majority of the world's population. However, the bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae has led to a sharp decline in their numbers. The island is the summer home to hundreds of thousands of migratory birds who nest at Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 1 and Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 2.