You might remember Ken Jennings from his 70+ game winning streak on Jeopardy, but he also currently writes a geography-themed column called “Maphead” for Conde Nast Traveler. In a column originally published a few years ago, he points us to an oddity in the middle of northern Canada.
There is an (unnamed) island inside a lake, which is itself inside an island. That island is in a lake, which is on Victoria Island, the Earth’s 8th largest island, nestled in the Coronation Gulf in far northern Canada.
Here are some screenshots to give you an idea of what we’re talking about. First, zoomed out to get a bit of context to where in the world we are talking about. The red arrow is pointing to Victoria Island
Now let’s zoom in (again, courtesy of Open Street Map contributors). I find it amusing that on the open-source Open Street Map, most of this part of northern Canada is not mapped at all. That is…. except for this four acre island that is so remote that it’s likely nobody’s ever set foot :-).
There’s a lake inside Victoria Island (lake pictured above). Then inside that lake, there’s an island, with a lake inside it. And inside THAT lake sits another tiny island.
You can also check it out on Google Maps, or if you want to try it on Google Earth, the coordinates are: 69.793° N, 108.241° W
Sounds like something to add to my travel bucket list!
More Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings and I are both Mormon computer programmers who have appeared on a Sony game show, so perhaps it’s that kinship that draws me to his writing. But he is dang funny, and informative as well.
In addition to the Conde Nast Traveler column called Maphead, he’s also written a a book called Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
I would definitely heartily recommend either of those books for the map / geography / trivia lover on your Christmas list
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Better see it soon. It’s going to be underwater due to climate change.
Or there’s Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, MI
http://www.neatorama.com/2013/12/05/The-Largest-Island-in-the-Largest-Lake-in-the-Largest-Island-in-the-Largest-Lake-in-North-America/
Love your article. Thank you for the inspiration