Baffin Bay

Extension of Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay , Baffin Bay or Baffinbai ( formerly also Bylotbai or Bilettbai , Inuktitut Saknirutiak Imanga , Greenlandic Avannaata Imaa ) is a northern marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean . The broad estuary lies between Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago , connecting with the Atlantic through Davis Strait , with the Arctic Ocean to the north through Smithsund and west through Lancastersund andJonessund . The bay was first discovered by British explorer John Davis in 1585 ; but it is named after William Baffin , who crossed it with Robert Bylot in 1616 .

Iceberg in Baffin Bay

The basin of Baffin Bay is about 1.5 times the size of the Baltic Sea . The greatest depth is halfway between Disko Island and Cape Raper on Baffin Island and is 2905 m. In the northern tip of the Bay, at the entrance to Smithsund, there is a polynya that is open all year round and is up to 80,000 km² in summer , the so-called North Water (English North Water Polynya ). The water quality as well as the salinity and its color often change as a result of the snowmelt that occurs at times. There are only a few islands within the bay, mostly near the coast. In the 19th century, Baffin Bay was a popular whaling area .

The state border between Canada and Greenland, which is internationally represented by Denmark , runs through Baffin Bay . The border was last fixed in 1973 and is undisputed in the Bay.

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Wiktionary: Baffin Bay - meaning explanations, word origin, synonyms, translations

73.384444444444 -68.234444444444Coordinates: 73° N , 68° W

John Ross : full text; Translation Philipp Andreas Nemnich : Expedition under the orders of the British Admiralty in the Royal Ships "Isabella" and " Alexander " to explore Baffin's Bay and examine the possibility of a north-west passage.