Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916

At this time the possible existence of large undiscovered land masses, comparable to the Canadian Arctic islands or even a small continent, was scientifically plausible.

The approach of the Northern Party, besides simply going out and looking for land, was a program of through-ice depth soundings to map the edge of the continental shelf.

The principal ship of the expedition, the Karluk, was carried off and eventually crushed by the ice, leading to the loss of eleven lives before a famous rescue.

Stefansson promptly purchased a small schooner, the North Star, reconstituted the Northern Party with local hires and resumed exploring.

The expedition discovered land previously unknown even to the Inuit [2] (including Brock, Mackenzie King, Borden, Meighen, Lougheed and Stefansson Islands),[3] produced valuable data, and launched the careers of several explorers and scientists.

Sketch of a serious-looking young man with piercing eyes and unruly dark hair, in coat and tie, in left half-profile
Vilhjalmur Stefansson 1915
Profile photograph of a man apparently in his thirties, with short dark hair, a neatly trimmed full beard, heavy eyebrows and a high round forehead. He is dressed for outdoor work in cool weather, and is photographed outdoors squinting into the distance.
Dr. Rudolph Martin Anderson