Baffin Bay pack ice. Winds are predominantly north-western through the whole year. South-eastern and eastern winds are common in July and August. Between May and July (sometimes April), a significant portion of navigable open water (polynya) forms at the extreme north of the bay, presumably due to the relatively warm Greenland Current. With an area of about in summer, it is the largest polynya of the Canadian Arctic and covers the Smith Sound between the Ellesmere Island and Greenland. This polynya has a stable position and existed for at least 9,000 years. It was first described in 1616 by William Baffin and
Hillsborough Bay Hillsborough Bay Hillsborough Bay is a bay on the south shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada and is a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. Hillsborough Bay is the largest bay in terms of surface area in Prince Edward Island, followed by Malpeque Bay. Its southerly limits are Rice Point in the west and Point Prim in the east. It opens directly south and west onto the Northumberland Strait while its northern and eastern shores are formed by Prince Edward Island; the Point Prim peninsula also extends along its southeastern boundary. The bay is notable for the entrance to Charlottetown Harbour