Definition von melville island im Englisch Englisch wörterbuch
One of the largest of the Parry Islands, in the Arctic Ocean, Canada. Located north of Victoria Island, it is 200 mi (320 km) long and 30-130 mi (50-210 km) wide, with an area of 16,274 sq mi (42,149 sq km). It has no human inhabitants, but it supports musk oxen and has natural-gas deposits. It was discovered in 1819 by William Parry. Island in the Timor Sea, off the coast of Northern Territory, Australia. It is 80 miles (130 km) long and 55 mi (88 km) wide, with an area of 2,240 sq mi (5,800 sq km). It was sighted by the Dutch in 1644; the British built Fort Dundas there in 1824. Melville Island, known to Aboriginals as Yermalner, is one of the few areas in Australia still occupied by its original Aboriginal peoples, the Tiwi, and in 1978 ownership of the island passed from the Australian government to the Tiwi Land Council