Baffin Bay less than deep near the coast, where the sea bottom is covered with gravel, crushed stone and sand. In the center, there is a deep pit called the Baffin Basin, reaching (see ), which is mostly covered in silt. Currents form a cyclonic circulation. On the eastern periphery, in summer, the West Greenland Current transports water from the Atlantic Ocean to the North. In its western part, the Baffin Island Current brings the Arctic waters to the south. The climate is Arctic with frequent storms, especially in winter. Average January temperatures are in the south and on the north. In
Prince of Wales Strait Prince of Wales Strait The Prince of Wales Strait is a strait in the Northwest Territories of Canada separating Banks Island to the northwest from Victoria Island to the southeast. It extends from Viscount Melville Sound in the northeast to Amundsen Gulf in the southwest. From late winter it is filled by ice that usually does not break up until August, if at all. Its namesake, Prince of Wales Island, lies over two-hundred miles to the east. The strait is a possible route for the Northwest Passage. The Parry Channel leads 600 miles west from Baffin Bay to the strait