SECTION IV., 1910. eal Trans. R. S. C. 
III.—Place-Names in Northern Canada 
By James Wire, F.R.GS. 
(Read 27th September 1910.) 
The geographical limits of Northern Canada have been taken as 
including the present North-West Territories which contain the so- 
called “districts”! of Ungava, Keewatin, Mackenzie and Franklin and 
the territory of Yukon. In considering in the large, the derivations 
of the place-names in this area, it is convenient to divide them into 
two groups: 
1.—The names of the Arctic islands. of the Arctic coast of the 
mainland, and of the coasts of Hudson bay and strait. 
2.—What. may be called the “inland” names, including practically 
all not in the first class. 
Arctic and Hudson bay exploration in British North America can 
be divided into three periods of activity :— 
(a) From Frobisher’s first voyage in 1576 to James’ and Foxe’s 
voyages in 1631. 
(b) From Ross’ voyage in 1818 to the Belcher expedition, 1852-54. 
(c) From the Nares’ expedition of 1875-76 to the present time. 
The first period includes the explorations of Frobisher, Davis, 
Hall, Hudson, Button, Baffin, Munk, Foxe, Jamesand others. Between 
the first and second period, there were occasional small expeditions in 
search of the North West passage, by way of the north-western portion 
of Hudson bay. 
The Ross expedition of 1818, followed Baffin’s track and verified 
the discoveries of Baffin, made over 200 years before and which had been 
expunged from the 18th century maps as unfounded. Following the 
extensive discoveries of Parry, 1819-25 and Franklin’s, 1821 and 1826,, 
the Admiralty, in 1845, dispatched the famous, but ill-fated, Franklin 
expedition. When a year and a half had elapsed, a feeling of uneasiness 
manifested itself and, in the next thirty years, over forty expeditions 
were sent out from England and America to rescue the survivors or 
bring home the records of the lost expedition. As the nature of the 
‘The boundaries of these “districts ’‘ have been indicated in accordance with 
the Order in Council of Dec. 18, 1897, except that a narrow strip lying between 
long. 100° W. and the eastern boundary of Saskatchewan has been included in 
Keewatin. As the Order in Council was contingent upon subsequent legislation, 
and as the legislation was never had, these divisions never had any legal status. ~ 
