We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Bellot Strait to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Bellot Strait and extending to:
Iqaluit, which is the Territorial Capital of Nunavut, lies 871 miles [1,401.7 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE).
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,934 miles [3,112.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE).
The shortest distance<2> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 4,871 miles [7,839.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<3>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 5,633 miles [9,065.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,824 miles [6,154.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
Footnotes ...
<1>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bellot Strait) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bellot Strait. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 72.0000, Longitude: -94.5000
<2>
The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Bellot Strait to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<3>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.11 degrees.
<4>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.686 degrees.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.106 degrees.