How did William Baffin’s exploration of Baffin Bay help later Northwest Passage expeditions?

William Baffin’s 1616 exploration of Baffin Bay provided critical, albeit initially misunderstood, geographic data that eventually guided 19th-century explorers in their search for the Northwest Passage.

During his voyage, Baffin penetrated the bay to 78° N and identified three major straits—Smith, Jones, and Lancaster sounds—radiating from the northern head of the bay. However, because he reported that these were merely bays rather than passages, his findings were largely discounted for two centuries, and the very existence of Baffin Bay was eventually doubted.12

When the British government renewed its search for the passage in the 19th century, early expeditions—such as that of John Ross in 1818—retraced Baffin’s route. Although Ross repeated Baffin’s error of mistaking the sounds for bays, his second-in-command, William Parry, remained unconvinced. Parry’s subsequent 1819–20 expedition successfully navigated Lancaster Sound, proving it was a viable route and opening the path for later explorers to map the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.3