Prince of Wales Strait

Its namesake, Prince of Wales Island, lies over 200 mi (320 km) to the east.

This is generally considered the epochal event of the discovery of the first Northwest Passage (in the geographical sense).

Henry Larson made the first passage in 1944 after failing to pass the M'Clure Strait.

In 1969, the oil tanker SS Manhattan was forced to use it after the ice had blocked the M'Clure Strait.

As the strait narrows to less than 24 mi (39 km), vessels using it pass within undisputed Canadian waters (see Arctic Archipelago).