{{Short description|Mountain range in Nunavut, Canada}} {{Infobox mountain | name=Byam Martin Mountains | map=Canada Nunavut | map_size=275 | map_caption=Location in Nunavut | image=Byam Martin Mountains 4 1997-08-05.jpg | image_size=275 | image_caption=Byam Martin Mountains | country=Canada | region=Nunavut | region1= | geology= | age= | orogeny= | parent=[[Baffin Mountains]] | highest=[[Angilaaq Mountain]] | elevation_m=1951 | coordinates = {{coord|73|13|41.9|N|78|37|14.9|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} }}
The '''Byam Martin Mountains'''{{pronunciation-needed}} are a rugged [[mountain range]] extending the length of [[Bylot Island]], [[Nunavut]], Canada. It is one of the most northern ranges in the world and is an extension of the [[Baffin Mountains]], which in turn form part of the [[Arctic Cordillera]] mountain system. The highest mountain in the range is [[Angilaaq Mountain]] at {{convert|1951|m|0|abbr=on}}, located near the island's center. Sharp peaks and [[ridge]]s, divided by deep glacier-filled [[valley]]s, are typical features in the range<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oceandots.com/arctic/canada/bylot.php |title=Canadian Arctic - Bylot Island |access-date=2009-03-14 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://oceandots.com/arctic/canada/bylot.php |archive-date=2010-12-23 }} Retrieved 2007-11-16</ref> and has been extensively modified by glacial [[erosion]]. The Byam Martin Mountains have not been conducive to habitation. While there are no permanent settlements in the Byam Martin Mountains, [[Inuit]] from [[Pond Inlet, Nunavut|Pond Inlet]] and elsewhere regularly travel to the range.
The Byam Martin Mountains are made up of [[Archean]]-Aphebian [[igneous rock|igneous]] [[crystal]]line rock and [[Proterozoic]] metasedimentary and [[metamorphic rock]], such as [[gneiss]].
==History==
The first known expedition to the Byam Martin Mountains was by Pat Baird in 1939. He traversed Bylot Island from the Aktineq Glacier to Bathurst Bay on the east coast and returned down the Sermilik Glacier. On 7 June 1939 he climbed an unnamed, 6,000-foot mountain at coordinates 73° 06.7' N 78° 30.5' W. Mount Thule, at {{Convert|1711|m|ft|abbr=on}}, was climbed in 1954 by American Ben Ferris, a member of the Harvard Mountaineering Club. In 1963, British explorer Bill Tilman sailed his boat to the north coast and traversed the island from north to south, but did not climb any of the larger peaks. Laurie Dexter, an Anglican minister and Arctic resident, explored and climbed peaks on the southern coast. In 1974, Dr. George Van Brunt Cochran climbed an unnamed peak west of the Narsarsuk Glacier on the south coast. In 1977, a Canadian expedition led by Rob Kelly and four others, traversed the island from northwest to southeast. They climbed 20 peaks, including Pat Baird's unnamed peak on 27 July 1977. In June 1981, another Canadian expedition led by Jack DeBruyn with three other members of the Grant MacEwan Mountain Club from Edmonton, Alberta, traversed the island from northwest to south. They climbed 15 peaks, with 14 first ascents, and also Pat Baird's unnamed peak on 3 July 1981. In 1984, another Canadian expedition led by Mike Schmidt and others traversed the island from north to southeast, climbing 28 peaks, with 16 first ascents.
==Gallery== <gallery widths="190px" heights="180px"> Image:Byam Martin Mountains 11 1997-08-05.jpg|Byam Martin Mountains Image:Bylot Island 1 1995-06-14.jpg|Byam Martin Mountains viewed from the foggy sea Image:Kaparoqtalik Glacier 1 1997-08-06.jpg|Kaparoqtalik Glacier in the southern Byam Martin Mountains Image:Nararsuk Glacier 1995-06-13.jpg|Nararsuk Glacier in the southern Byam Martin Mountains Image:Sirmilik Glacier 2 1997-08-06.jpg|Girmilik Glacier in the southern Byam Martin Mountains Image:Unnamed glacier Bylot eastern coast 1995-06-10.jpg|Unnamed glacier in the eastern Byam Martin Mountains </gallery>
==See also== *[[Sirmilik National Park]], which includes most of Bylot Island
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Arctic Cordillera}} {{Mountain ranges of Nunavut}} {{Mountains of Nunavut}}
[[Category:Mountain ranges of the Qikiqtaaluk Region]] [[Category:Arctic Cordillera]]