CanadaCanadian Arctic ArchipelagoIsland
Axel Heiberg Island
43,178 km² rising to 2,210 m out of the Northwest Passage.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
43,178km²
Area
2,610km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,210m
Highest point
Outlook Peak
8
People
0°C
Warmest sea
August
681km
To the mainland
When to go to Axel Heiberg Island
Best to visit from December to April.
The sea is warmest in August (0 °C) and coolest in February (-2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Nunavut, Canada
Axel Heiberg Island is an island in Canada. It belongs to Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It covers 43,178 km², with 2,610 km of coastline. Its highest point, Outlook Peak, rises to 2,210 m. About 8 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 681 km away.
Getting there
- 681 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From December to Aprilbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Axel Heiberg Island.
- 52beaches
- 86named peaksOutlook Peak, White Crown Mountain, The Two Craters and 83 more
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Axel Heiberg Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Axel Heiberg Island, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
48mountainsPeakyas
5lakesLakeyas
Highest point
2,048m
White Crown Mountain
prominence 298 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
15.7km²
Buchanan Lake
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
0.4°C
Sherwood Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
48 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- White Crown Mountainprominence 298 m2,048m
- Outlook Peakprominence 2,210 m1,920m
- Gloriana Peak1,702m
- Wolf Mountain1,160m
- Monkhead Mountain1,140m
- Airborne Peak916m
- Little Matterhorn720m
- Castle Mountain690m
40 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
5 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Buchanan Lake15.7km²
- Jaeger Lake1.0km²
- Astro Lake0.58km²
- Plateau Lake0.56km²
- Greenstone Lake0.41km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
200 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -30 | -31 | -29 | -21 | -10 | -1 | 4 | 0 | -10 | -18 | -24 | -27 |
| Night low (°C) | -34 | -35 | -34 | -27 | -14 | -4 | 1 | -4 | -13 | -21 | -28 | -32 |
| Sea (°C) | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 13 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 44 | 53 | 58 | 38 | 32 | 16 | 15 |
| Wet days | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 4 |
| Sun h/day | — | 1.5 | 4.7 | 12.9 | 16.4 | 14.0 | 10.3 | 6.4 | 4.5 | 2.1 | — | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.6 | −0.7 | −0.5 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.9 | −0.6 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.8 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.6 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.5 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.5 | −0.5 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Meighen IslandCanada924 km²262 m168 km away
Amund Ringnes IslandCanada5,255 km²74 m195 km away
Ellesmere IslandCanada196,235 km²2,616 m256 km away
Cornwall IslandCanada2,256 km²349 m250 km away
Ellef Ringnes IslandCanada11,295 km²266 m273 km away
Graham IslandCanada1,367 km²186 m260 km away
King Christian IslandCanada649 km²165 m316 km away
North Kent IslandCanada587 km²600 m343 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q207666) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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