DAVIS STRAIT

bay of the northern Atlantic Ocean, lying between southeastern Baffin Island (Canada) and southwestern Greenland. It separates the depths of Baffin Bay (north) from those of the Labrador Sea (south) and forms part of the Northwest Passage, a route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is approximately 400 mi (650 km) north to south and 200 to 400 mi wide. Along the shore of Greenland, the West Greenland Current carries relatively warm water northward, while the cold Labrador Current transports masses of ice southward along Baffin Island's eastern shore into the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic. Icebergs are discharged into the waters by glacial action from the vast interior Greenland icecap. The Baffin Island coast has few permanent settlements because the main shipping routes are in the warmer waters near the Greenland coast. The navigation season for the principal Greenland ports (including Frederikshb, Godthb, and Holsteinsborg) extends from midsummer to late fall but with great annual variations. The strait was named for the navigator John Davis, who explored it in 1585.