Prince of Wales Strait

a strait in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, between Victoria and Banks islands. Prince of Wales Strait connects the Amundsen Gulf of the Beaufort Sea with Viscount Melville Sound. The strait is 350 km long and 20 to 45 km wide. It has a maximum depth of 138 m. The strait freezes at the end of September. The southern part is free of ice from the end of July to the beginning of August, but the northern part remains icebound in most years. Prince of Wales Strait was discovered in 1850 by the British arctic explorer R. J. McClure.