Hudson Bay

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Hudson Bay inland sea of North America, c.475,000 sq mi (1,230,000 sq km), c.850 mi (1,370 km) long and c.650 mi (1,050 km) wide, E central Canada. Hudson Bay and James Bay (its southern extension) and all their islands border Nunavut Territory, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Hudson Strait (c.450 mi/720 km long) connects Hudson Bay with the Atlantic Ocean, and Foxe Channel leads to the Arctic Ocean. Mansel, Coats, and Southampton islands are at the northern end of the bay. Hudson Bay occupies the southernmost portion of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, a depression in the Canadian Shield formed during the Pleistocene epoch by the weight of the continental ice sheet. As the ice retreated, the region was flooded by the sea, and sediments were deposited in it. With the burden of ice removed, the floor of the lowlands has been slowly rising and the bay is gradually becoming shallower. The western shores are generally low and marshy and covered by tundra, while the east coast is barren and rocky, with the Ottawa and Belcher island groups offshore. Many rivers, including the Churchill and Nelson, drain into the bay. Hudson Bay moderates the local climate; it is ice-free and open to navigation from mid-July to October. The bay was explored and named (1610) by Henry Hudson in his search for the Northwest Passage. The surrounding region was a rich source of furs, and France and England struggled for its possession until 1713, when France ceded its claim by the Peace of Utrecht. Hudson's Bay Company set up many trading posts there, especially at river mouths; some of the posts have operated continuously since 1670. The Hudson Bay Railway (opened 1929) links the prairie provinces with Churchill, Man., a port for oceangoing freighters.

Hudson, Canada, USA 1. Canada: a bay explored in 1610 and named after Henry Hudson (c.1535–1611), an English navigator, while he sought the Northwest Passage to Asia. Having failed, his crew mutinied and cast him and eight others adrift. Nothing was ever heard of any of them again. It gave its name to the renowned Hudson's Bay Company established in 1670 to find a way through to the Pacific by way of a north‐west passage and to conduct trading operations with the people living in areas around the bay.2. Canada: a strait between Baffin Island and Quebec named after Henry Hudson.3. USA (New York): a river named after Henry Hudson who explored it in 1609 when he should have been seeking the Northeast Passage to Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. Having failed in that venture, he ignored his contract and set out to discover the Northwest Passage.

Hudson Bay World's largest inland sea, in e Northwest Territories, Canada, also bounded by Québec (e), Ontario (s), and Manitoba (sw). It connects to the Atlantic by the Hudson Strait (ne), and to the Arctic Ocean by the Foxe Channel (n). Explored in 1610 by Henry Hudson, the bay contains Southampton, Mansel, and Coats islands. The Churchill and Nelson rivers drain into the bay, which is ice-free from July to October. Area: c.1,243,000sq km (480,000sq mi).