Island group, northern Canada.
Part of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, it comprises all the islands north of latitude 74°30 2032; N, including the Parry and Sverdrup island groups. The islands, the largest of which are Ellesmere , Melville , Devon, and Axel Heiberg, have a total land area of over 150,000 sq mi (390,000 sq km). Probably first visited by the Vikings 0441; AD 1000, they were partially explored (161516) by English navigators William Baffin and Robert Bylot. The islands, which are administratively split between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut , were named in 1953 to honour Queen Elizabeth II .