Ice wedges (IWs), one of the most widespread landforms and most abundant forms of ground ice in the Arctic, form complex landscape mosaics. Characterizing IWs and their distribution is essential to provide improved understanding of landscape-scale hydrology and associated processes in a warming climate. This characterization is typically based on mapping the distribution of IWs from their surface expression: narrow troughs aligned on the axis of the IWs forming polygons. Here, we find that the majority of IWs in our study area (western coast of Hudson Bay, Nunavut, Canada) are isolated or form open polygons, as opposed to closed polygons. The traditional method of describing IWs networks based only on closed IW polygons results in inadequate representation of IW distribution, ground ice volume and hydrology. The mapped IW network aligns with the properties of the surficial deposits and topography of the landscape, but may represent only a portion of the IWs given the subdued surface expression of IWs and the presence of active surface processes in the region. Our findings reveal a new level of uncertainty in system-understanding and modelling of ice-wedge polygonal terrain. We emphasize the need for future work on IW characterization, particularly for non-archetypal, active, disconnected networks, and for the eastern Canadian Arctic.