Baffin Bay

The Baffin Bay, Baffin Bay or Baffin Bay (Danish Baffin Bugten, formerly Bylot or Bilettbai ) is a northern marginal sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean. The wide estuary lies between Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, which communicates with the Atlantic through the Davis Strait, the Arctic Ocean to the north by the Smith Sound and to the west by the Lancaster Sound and Jonessund. The bay was first discovered in 1585 by British explorer John Davis, but is named after William Baffin, who crossed in 1616 with Robert Bylot.

The basin of Baffin Bay is about 1.5 times as large as the Baltic Sea. The greatest depth is set halfway between the island of Disko Island and Cape Raper on Baffin Island and is 2905 m. In the northern tip of the bay, at the entrance of Smithsunds, is a year-round open 50,000 km ² large polynya, the so-called Northern Water ( engl. North Water polynya ). The water quality and salinity and its color change often as a result of temporarily entering snowmelt. Within the Bay are just a few islands, mostly near the coast. In the 19th century, the Baffin Bay was a popular area for whaling.