CanadaCanadian Arctic ArchipelagoIsland
Victoria Island
217,291 km² rising to 655 m out of the Northwest Passage.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
217,291km²
Area
5,082km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
655m
Highest point
1,875
People
2°C
Warmest sea
August
67km
To the mainland
When to go to Victoria Island
Best to visit from December to April.
The sea is warmest in August (2 °C) and coolest in January (-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 the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada
Victoria Island is an island in Canada. It belongs to Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It covers 217,291 km², with 5,082 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 655 m. About 1,875 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 67 km away.
Getting there
- Cambridge Bay Airport (YCB)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at YZF airport (Yellowknife)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 67 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From December to Aprilbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
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 Victoria Island.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Victoria Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Victoria Island, each with its own numbers.
2beaches and covesCoastya
121lakesLakeyas
1waterfallCascadyas
Largest lake
564km²
Tahiryuaq
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
13.7°C
Qamanaaryuk
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
4.0°C
Refuge Cove
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
121 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Tahiryuaq564km²
- Zeta Lake308km²
- Washburn Lake255km²
- Surrey Lake244km²
- Tahoe Lake170km²
- Ivyuqtuuq166km²
- Quunnguq Lake155km²
- Namaycush Lake119km²
113 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Qurluq
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Cambridge Bay1,760 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -29 | -29 | -24 | -13 | -3 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 0 | -11 | -22 | -27 |
| Night low (°C) | -36 | -36 | -32 | -22 | -10 | 1 | 6 | 2 | -4 | -16 | -28 | -34 |
| Sea (°C) | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 13 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 30 | 50 | 60 | 58 | 43 | 31 | 16 | 13 |
| Wet days | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| Sun h/day | 1.3 | 4.1 | 8.5 | 13.9 | 16.1 | 10.0 | 7.7 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 1.0 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
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 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −1.3 | −0.5 | −0.5 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −1.2 | −0.9 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −0.9 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | +1.7 | +4.5 | +1.9 | +1.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +1.3 | +3.8 | +3.5 | +2.3 | +0.5 | +0.2 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.5 | +0.1 | +2.3 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q158129) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| 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, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit