Foxe Basin

Foxe Basin
Foxe Basin
	Map indicating Foxe Basin
Location	South of Baffin Island, Nunavut
Coordinates	65°55′50″N 77°55′10″W / 65.93056°N 77.91944°W
Type	Bay

Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by sea ice (fast ice) and drift ice made up of multiple ice floes.^[2]

The nutrient-rich cold waters found in the basin are known to be especially favourable to phytoplankton and the numerous islands within it are important bird habitats, including Sabine's gulls and many types of shorebirds. Bowhead whales migrate to the northern part of the basin each summer.

The basin takes its name from the English explorer Luke Foxe who entered the lower part in 1631.^[3]

^ "Foxe Basin". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
^ Finlayson, Douglas; Clarke, R. Allyn (15 December 2013). "Foxe Basin". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
^ Foxe, Luke National Historic Person. Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada.

[1] "Foxe Basin". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.

[2] Finlayson, Douglas; Clarke, R. Allyn (15 December 2013). "Foxe Basin". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.

[3] Foxe, Luke National Historic Person. Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada.

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