Southampton Island

Southampton is an island in the Keewatin region of Nunavut. Discovered in 1613 by Thomas Button, the island was named for Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. Lying at the entrance of Hudson Bay, it is roughly 340 kilometers long and 355 kilometers wide in a roughly triangular shape. Its only inhabited settlement is Coral Harbour (or Salliq), at the head of South Bay. Coral Harbour was established as a trading post; however, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police later established a base, an airfield and a meteorological station in the area.