'Round Lord Mayor Bay with James Clark Ross: The Original Diary of 1830

Abstract

During John Ross's arctic expedition of 1829-33 in search of a northwest passage, approximately 1000 km of new coastline was mapped. Included in these new coastlines was Lord Mayor Bay on eastern Boothia Peninsula, which was surveyed by Ross's nephew and second-in-command, James Clark Ross, in 1830. The results of the Lord Mayor Bay survey effectively ended any chance of there being a northwest passage south and east of Somerset Island or west of northern Foxe Basin and northwest Hudson Bay. Despite the obvious importance of James Clark Ross's survey, it was not included in John Ross's published narrative of the expedition. The original diary has recently been located and is reproduced here, together with accompanying sketches and observations and a discussion of the circumstances of the survey.