Hantzsch Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Frobisher Bay off the southern tip of Baffin Island's Meta Incognita Peninsula and the northeastern tip of Edgell Island. The closest community is the community of Iqaluit, 270 km northwest of Hantzsch Island.

Geography

The island is small and dome-shaped. Its habitat is characterized by coastal cliffs, grassy slopes, and a rugged shoreline.

Fauna

Hantzsch Island is a Canadian Important Bird Area (#NU025), an International Biological Program site, and a Key Migratory Terrestrial Bird Site (NU Site 49). Notable bird species include black-legged kittiwakes, thick-billed murres, northern fulmars, and other colonial waterbirds and seabirds. Beluga whales, bearded seal, ringed seal, harp seal, polar bears, and walrus frequent the area.

History

The island is named in honour of Bernhard Hantzsch, a German ornithologist and Arctic researcher.