North Kent Island

North Kent Island is located in the high Arctic region, off the southwestern tip of Ellesmere Island (visible at top-right in the above image). The island is sandwiched between it's two massive neighbours of Ellesmere Island and Devon Island. Ellesmere Island is located to the northeast, lying 6 km across the Hell Gate. Devon Island lies to the southwest, 7.5 km across the Cardigan Strait. The northwestern side of the island faces the large Norwegian Bay region of western Ellesmere Island, with the southeast side of the island facing the Fram Sound and the Colin-Archer Peninsula region of Devon Island (at bottom-left of the image).

At 590 km² in area, North Kent Island is approximately triangular in shape with its apex facing the southeast into Fram Sound. The island measures 41 km in length and is up to 22 km in width in the north, tapering to 10.5 km in the south. From its generally steep coastline (50-100 m slopes and cliffs) the island rises to an upland interior of rolling hills with average elevations of 400 m above sea level in the north to over 600 m in the south.

The central sections of the island's southern half are covered in permanent ice. The ice cap and its associated glaciers cover an area in the region of 150 km².

image: MODIS rapid response project at nasa/goddard space flight center

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