Beaufort Sea

Beaufort Sea (bō`fərt), part of the Arctic Ocean, N of Alaska and Canada, between Point Barrow, Alaska, and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Mackenzie River flows into the sea, which is always covered with pack ice. It was first explored by the Canadian Vilhjalmur Stefansson in 1914.

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Beaufort Sea

Part of the Arctic Ocean northeast of Alaska, northwest of Canada, and west of Banks Island in the Arctic Archipelago. Its surface area is about 184,000 sq mi (476,000 sq km), its average depth is 3,239 ft (1,004 m), and its greatest depth is 15,360 ft (4,680 m). It is frozen over almost year-round; only in August and September does the ice break up. The Mackenzie River flows into the sea; the chief settlement is Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

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Beaufort Sea

part of the Arctic Ocean off the N coast of North America

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Beaufort Sea 

a sea bordering the Arctic Ocean on the shores of North America between Point Barrow and the shores of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Area, 476,000 sq km. Maximum depth, 4,683 m; average depth, 1,004 m. For the most part the Beaufort Sea covers the continental shelf. The currents form a cyclone-like vortex. In August on the southern periphery of this vortex motion, water that is heated to a temperature of 4° C and has a salinity of about 28 parts per thousand is carried eastward; on the northern periphery, arctic water with a temperature of 1.5° C and salinity of about 32 parts per thousand is carried westward. The Beaufort Sea is covered all year by ice; the ice edge retreats to a distance of 50–100 km from the shore in August. The Mackenzie River empties into the Beaufort Sea. The sea was named for the English admiral F. Beaufort.