Canada
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
110km²
Area
66km
Coastline
182m
Highest point
0
People
5°C
Warmest sea
August
2km
To the mainland
When to go to Herschel Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (5 °C) and coolest in February (-2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Yukon, Canada
Herschel Island is an island in Canada. It covers 110 km², with 66 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 182 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 2 km away.
Getting there
- Barter Island Long Range Radar Station Airport (BTI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 182 km in a straight lineCar hire at YZF airport (Yellowknife)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 2 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Herschel Island.
- 1ruins and archaeological sites
- 1campsitesKuvluraq (Simpson Point)
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Herschel Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Herschel Island, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
5.3°C
Pauline Cove
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 68 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 33 %0–50 m
- 67 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -19 | -18 | -17 | -8 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 4 | -4 | -13 | -18 |
| Night low (°C) | -24 | -23 | -23 | -14 | -5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | -7 | -18 | -22 |
| Sea (°C) | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | -1 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 18 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 31 | 40 | 61 | 76 | 59 | 46 | 22 | 17 |
| Wet days | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 5 |
| Sun h/day | 0.6 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 11.9 | 12.3 | 11.1 | 7.8 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −1.2 | +1.5 | +3.5 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −1.6 | +3.8 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.4 | −1.7 | +1.6 | +0.2 | +0.5 | −0.7 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2023 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.4 | +0.2 | +5.6 | +5.3 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.4 | −2.0 | −0.6 | +2.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.3 | −2.0 | −0.4 | +0.3 | −1.0 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1547493) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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