The islands of the archipelago over 10,000 km2 ( 3,900 sq mi ) , in order of descending area , are : \* NT = Northwest Territories , NU = Nunavut After Greenland , the archipelago is the world 's largest high-Arctic land area .
The bigger islands of the archipelago ( over 10,000 km ² ) are : \* NT = Northwest Territories , NU = Nunavut