CanadaCanadian Arctic ArchipelagoIsland
Stefansson Island
4,473 km² of land in 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
4,473km²
Area
312km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
267m
Highest point
0
People
0°C
Warmest sea
August
313km
To the mainland
When to go to Stefansson Island
Best to visit from December to April.
The sea is warmest in August (0 °C) and coolest in January (-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
Stefansson Island is an island in Canada. It belongs to Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It covers 4,473 km², with 312 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 267 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 313 km away.
Getting there
- 313 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 Stefansson Island.
- 241beaches
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 94 m above the sea. 98 % of it is below 200 m.
- 27 %0–50 m
- 71 %50–200 m
- 2 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 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) | -24 | -25 | -22 | -15 | -6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | -2 | -11 | -19 | -23 |
| Night low (°C) | -28 | -29 | -26 | -19 | -9 | -1 | 1 | 0 | -5 | -14 | -22 | -27 |
| Sea (°C) | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | -2 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 15 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 23 | 38 | 46 | 52 | 34 | 29 | 18 | 16 |
| Wet days | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| Sun h/day | — | 0.7 | 5.8 | 12.5 | 13.0 | 11.6 | 8.5 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 |
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 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | −0.9 | −1.0 | −0.8 | −0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.5 | −0.9 | −1.1 | −0.9 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.5 | −0.9 | −1.0 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | −0.8 | −0.7 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | −0.9 | −0.7 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.4 | −0.8 | −0.9 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Prince of Wales IslandCanada33,339 km²231 km away
Byam Martin IslandCanada1,158 km²157 m218 km away
Melville IslandCanada42,149 km²776 m296 km away
Victoria IslandCanada217,291 km²655 m332 km away
Bathurst IslandCanada16,042 km²389 m318 km away
Alexander IslandCanada484 km²180 m296 km away
Île VanierCanada1,118 km²200 m323 km away
Cornwallis IslandCanada6,995 km²359 m381 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1165627) · 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 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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