VISCOUNT MELVILLE SOUND

formerly Melville Sound, arm of the Arctic Ocean, Kitikmeot and Baffin regions, Northwest Territories, northern Canada. It is 250 miles (400 km) long and 100 miles (160 km) wide. The discovery of this body of water, reached from the east by Sir William Edward Parry (181920) and from the west (185054) by Sir Robert McClure, proved the existence of the Northwest Passage and provided passage through the Arctic archipelago. A crossroads of Arctic waterways, the sound lies between Banks, Victoria, and Prince of Wales islands on the south and Melville and Bathurst islands on the north. This section of the Northwest Passage is navigable only under favourable weather conditions.