Richards Island is one of the Canadian arctic islands within the Northwest Territories, Canada. The island has an area of 2,165 square kilometres (836 square miles), being 85 kilometres (53 miles) long and 42 kilometres (26 miles) wide. Its eastern limit is marked by the main channel of the Mackenzie River, while its western limit is defined by the narrower Reindeer Channel.[1]

Richards Island was named by John Richardson in 1826 after the Governor of the Bank of England, John Baker Richards.[2] The island, while desolate, is home to some major oil and gas sites. The nearest permanent settlement is Tuktoyaktuk, which lies 29 km (18 mi) to the east on the mainland.

References

  1. ^ "Canadian Arctic - Richards Island". www.oceandots.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ Franklin, John (1828). Narrative of a second expedition to the shores of the Polar sea in the years 1825, 1826 and 1827, by John Franklin,... including an account of the progress of a detachment to the Eastward, by John Richardson. London: J. Murray. John Franklin 1826.