Most of the islands are uninhabited, but their main industry is oil drilling. Many were explored by William Parry, after whom they were formerly named.
The QueenElizabethIslands, NWT/Nunavut, are a group of islands in the Canadian ARCTIC ARCHIPELAGO lying north of a great bathometric trench composed of (east to west) LANCASTER SOUND, Barrow Strait, Viscount Melville Sound and M'Clure Strait.
The islands are further grouped as the PARRY ISLANDS (Prince Patrick, Melville, Mackenzie King, Borden, Bathurst and Lougheed) and the SVERDRUP ISLANDS (Ellef Ringnes, Amund Ringnes, Axel Heiberg, Cornwall and Meighen).
The occupation of the QueenElizabethIslands by the Inuit is fairly recent.