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Written by The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica

Foxe Basin

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Written by The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica

Foxe Basin, basin that is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between Melville Peninsula and Baffin Island, north of Hudson Bay in Nunavut, Canada. The basin is about 300 miles (500 km) long and 200–250 miles (320–400 km) wide, with a maximum depth of 1,500 feet (460 metres). It is connected with Hudson Bay (south) by Foxe Channel (110 miles wide), which lies between Foxe Peninsula (east) and Southampton Island (west) and is icebound except at midsummer. Major islands include Prince Charles, Air Force, Rowley, Jens Munk, and Spicer. The name commemorates Capt. Luke Foxe, who navigated the waters in search of the Northwest Passage (1631).

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