Article

Fury and Hecla Strait

Published Online February 7, 2006

Last Edited March 4, 2015

Fury and Hecla Strait is located at the northern end of Foxe Basin, connecting the basin with the Gulf of Boothia, and separating Melville Peninsula on the mainland and Baffin Island to the north.
Parry, Sir William Edward
Parry ranks among the great navigators for penetrating the Arctic Archipelago, for showing how ships can survive and men work through an arctic winter (courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

Fury and Hecla Strait is located at the northern end of Foxe Basin, connecting the basin with the Gulf of Boothia, and separating Melville Peninsula on the mainland and Baffin Island to the north. It is 190 km long and as it is only about 50 km wide it is very often jammed with ice. The strait was discovered in July 1822 by William Parry and it naturally aroused interest as a possible link in the Northwest Passage; Parry's way was blocked by ice but a land reconnaissance confirmed that the strait led to open water. Parry named the strait for his ships, HMS Fury and HMS Hecla. Joseph Bernier attempted to traverse the strait in 1911, but was also prevented by heavy ice.