John Ross - 1829-1833

John Ross

Accomplishments:

• during their years on Boothia Peninsula, Ross' land parties journeyed along the east side of Boothia Peninsula and charted the coast as far as Kull Island
• in the west, they explored the coasts of King William Island between Cape Norton and Victory Point and sighted and named Cape Jane Franklin and Franklin Point
• they travelled along the coasts of Matty Island and charted the west coast of Boothia Peninsula between Cape Porter and Cape Nicholas
• Ross determined the location of the North Magnetic Pole as being, at that time, on Boothia Peninsula at approximately 70ºN, near Cape Adelaide
• Prince Regent Inlet was shown to be a bad approach to the Northwest Passage due to the unfavorable ice conditions in the Gulf of Boothia

Interesting Facts:

• for the first time a party had survived four winters in the Canadian North
• Ross closed Rae Strait on his map by an "isthmus" linking King William Island and Boothia
• the possible effect of this error on the route travelled by Franklin in 1846 is open to speculation
• Ross had sailed previously in 1818, contributing greatly to contemporary Arctic science while proving the accuracy of Baffin's observations

  View Voyage Route

Information taken from Arctic Canada, Volume I, Third Edition, 1982

Image courtesy of Mary F. Hamilton/NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF CANADA/C-123839