Ysst Ice which develops in the coastal waters exposed to the 8©a, normally 

 is confined to two narrow sections of this coast, the northern shores of 

 Loks Land to the Leybourne Islands group at the approaches to Cumberland 

 Sound, and Leopold Island to a few miles north of Exeter Bay. 



There is no fast ice off Cape Chidley, the northern shores of East 

 Hudson Strait, or the islands guarding the approaches to Lower Frobisher 

 Bay. Tidal currents prevent the formation of fast ice off Cape Chidley. 

 Only a narrow ice foot is found along the northern shores of east Hudson 

 Strait. The same is true of Resolution, Edgellj, and Lower Savage Islands, 

 as well as the southern coast of Loks Land. The tidal ice foot is also a 

 prominent feature of Lower Frobisher Bay. Fast ice is encountered only 

 in the protected bays and sounds of this body of water. Although, Upper 

 Frobisher Bay is fairly locked in fast ice, swift tidal currents keep 

 many of the narrow channels open through the wlnterj still others acquire 

 a temporary thin layer of ice which breaks at high tides and under pres- 

 sure of winds. Ice over the tidal flats is extremely rough, rafted, and 

 ridged. Only the ice of Ward Inlet, Wayne Bay, and the center ice of the 

 upper bay is flat. Ice begins to form in this region in. the latter part 

 of October and should cover Upper Frobisher Bay by mid-November. A thick- 

 ness of 3 feet is expected by January s and 4 to 5 feet by March. 



The near shore ice normally has a heavy snow layer, 8 to 12 inches, 

 with drifts of 2 to 3 feet| the flat ice has a more uniform and lighter 

 cover, 6 to 8 inches, with occasional drifts of 12 to 24 inches. 



The outer margin of the fast ice north of Loks Land extends approx- 

 imately from Osbon Bay to almost 64° 30 ! W, skirting a distance of 2 to 4 

 miles seaward of the north of Hall and Hudson Islands and Loks Land. Here 

 it forms an embayment and turns eastward to within 4 or 5 miles of Monu- 

 mental Island and curves northward to within a few miles of Cape Murchison 

 and continues to skirt the coastal Islands. The ice encloses Leybourne 

 Islands and turns into Cumberland Sound. 



To the north, the fast ice generally is confined to the protected 

 waters. Its outer boundary extends from the northwest tip of Leopold Is- 

 land to the east side Muingniak Island and encloses the bay on the north- 

 east side of Kekertuk Island. The extent of the fast ice terminates at 

 this point. However, it resumes its coverage In the southern entry of the 

 passage on the west side of Angijak Island and envelopes the northern 

 shore of this island as far as its eastern terminus. From here, it pro- 

 ceeds northward to Cape Walsingham, thereafter curving into Exeter Sound, 

 almost jutting the coast to the north, and ending a few miles south of 

 Cape Dyer. This fast ice is similar to the ice to the south. It forms 

 in the latter part of October and very likely progresses seaward to the 

 described margin by the end of November. Its thickness is estimated to 

 be 3 feet by early January, increasing to 5 feet by March. However, not 

 all of th« shore waters in this region freeze ovpt completely. Tidal cur- 

 rents funneling through some of the passages tend to keep the islands north 

 of the Leybourne Islands free of ice. The ice-free areas are found in 

 passages having a north-south orientation. 



