Ellesmere, << EHLZ meer, >> Island is part of Canada’s territory of Nunavut. Lying west of Greenland, it covers 75,767 square miles (196,236 square kilometers) and is the world’s 10th largest island. It has a population of about 100. Smith Sound and Kennedy Channel separate it from Greenland. The Prince of Wales Mountains rise in eastern Ellesmere. In 1616, William Baffin became the first European to reach the island. Robert Peary explored it in 1899. See also Baffin, William ; Peary, Robert E.
