Nunavut
Canada's Newest Territory
Kitikmeot Region:
You can follow in the footsteps of seagoing explorers who came here in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia. The people of the Kitikmeot have always navigated the Passage in skin boats, schooners and motor vessels. In winter they travel the sea ice by snowmobiles. Kitikmeot's mainland tundra is dotted with millions of ponds and lakes that are ideal habitat for nesting waterfowl. On a river journey in the barrenlands, you can see wolves, grizzly bears, muskox, foxes and caribou.
Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary:
At 63,000 sq. kilometers, it's the largest sanctuary in North America. Queen Maud is a Ramsar designated Wetland of international importance. Millions of birds nest and raise their young here. This includes approximatesly 90% of the world's population of Ross geese. Queen Maud is also prime habitat for larger animals. Barrenground caribou birth their young and summer here. Muskox and grizzly bears make their homes on this mosaic of marshes, cliffs, rock, tundra and water.
Baffin Region:
In April, experience the Arctic from a qamutif (sled) behind an eager team of dogs. You can tour deep fiords or the tundra feeding grounds of Peary caribou. On some tours, you set up a winter camp, then watch the amazing Aurora Borealis. A sledding expedition takes you across the sea-ice of Frobisher Bay to Meta Incognita Peninsula and into Katannilik Territorial Park. Your unforgettable journey ends in Kimmirut, where you can visit the Katannilik Park Visitor Center or view jewelery and stone sculptures at the Soper House Art Gallery. Every community in Nunavut has air service. You'll fly back to Iqaluit from there. From the capital (Iqaluit), local travel outfitters can take you to Illaulittuuq Outpost Camp, located approximately 112 km southeast of Iqaluit. This place of seal pups has been a traditional Inuit home for hundreds of years, and is the perfect setting for explorations of the land and culture. Set out from Pond Inlet to see mountains, glaciers, icebergs and marine wildlife. Outfitters offer snowmobile trips to Thule sites, the floe edge or to bird cliffs on Bylot Island. Other activities include cross-country skiiing, sea kayaking, sport fishing, narwhale watching and exploring journey in Sirmilik National Parks.
Kivaliq Region:
There is so much to do in this nature-lovers paradise. You can whale watch from land or sea as pods of belugas play in the rivers running into the bay. Spot polar beras as they prowl the shore waiting for winter ice to form. Visit caribou birthing grounds and huge bird sanctuaries. Everywhere you go the fishing is spectacular. You can hike for hundreds of kilometers along rivers unchanged since the ice age. If this is your first tundra experience, you'll be amazed at the ocean of rolling hills that seemingly never end. Mark your adventure by building your own inikshuk. It's a little more work than you might think. However, this monument to your Kivaliq visit could very well last until the nex ice age.
Marble Island:
Many legends are connected with this strange and beautiful island of white stone not far from Rankin Inlet. For Inuit, the island has strong spiritual associations. There are also traces of European visitors, most notably the doomed crews of 18th centruy English ships that lie sunken in the harbour.
Flag
The Flag of Nunavut was proclaimed on 1 April 1999, along with the territory of Nunavut in Canada.
It features a red inukshuk-an Inuit land marker—and a blue star, which represents both the Niqirtsuituq, the North Star, and the leadership of elders in the community. The colours represent the riches of the land, sea and sky.
The Nunavut flag is the only territorial flag to exhibit a vertical bicolour of any kind.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Nunavut
Some Facts
-Nunavut became Canada's third territory on April 1, 1999.
-It is the largest territory and has one-fifth of the land in Canada.
-Nunavut is made up of a mainland and many islands in the Arctic Ocean.
-Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island are two large islands.
-The Northwest Territories is west of Nunavut.
-There are about 26 settlements.
-Nunavut's capital is Iqaluit.
-flower - purple saxifrage
-motto - Nunavut, our strength
-Nunavut means our land in the Inuit language of Inuktitut.
This photograph, taken on eastern Baffin Island in Nunavut, shows a glacier flowing off the Byam Martin Mountains ice cap near Navy Board Inlet, which divides Baffin and Bylot islands.
Source: Geological Survey of Canada, photograph number 2002-238. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2005 and courtesy of Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada.
atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/.../image_view
Land and Water
-The land and water are frozen most of the year.
-The Arctic waters are covered with ice floes.
-Icebergs break off from the glaciers and fall into the sea.
-The land is covered with sheets of ice, water pools and rivers.
-In winter you can't tell where the land ends and the sea begins.
-There are also mountains and tundra.
-Moss, tough grasses and small willow shrubs grow on the tundra.
-The soil is frozen. (Fruits and vegetables are flown in.)
-Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve is Canada's most northern park.
-It is a polar desert with very little snowfall.
Picture: Nunavut Iceberg
© 2003/2004 Dave Brosha - Arctic Photography
www.arctic-photo.com/images/ice/
The People
-Nunavut is the home to about 30,000 people.(2005)
-The Inuit are the aboriginal people who make up 85 percent of the population.
-Inuktitut is the language of the Inuit.
-Some people have come from other parts of Canada.
-English, French and Inuktitut are the languages spoken in Nunavut.
-The towns are very small and far away from each other.
-Airplanes bring supplies if towns can't be reached by road.
-On Baffin Island the Inuit still hunt and fish for survival.
Picture: View looking northeast down Inugsuin Fiord, Baffin Island, Nunavut within the Central Baffin project area.
(Courtesy of Marc St-Onge)
http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/cogmaps/prov/nu_e.php
Wildlife
-The Inuit believe in taking care of the land and the wildlife.
-Wildlife includes muskoxen, caribou, polar bears, arctic foxes, whales and seals.
-They eat the meat of muskoxen, caribou, whales and seals. They also fish.
-Clothing is made from the furs of the muskoxen, polar bears, arctic foxes and seals.
Picture: Two Polar Bears on an Iceberg in Nunavut, Canada
agw-heretic.blogspot.com/2007/11/weekly-reade...
Places
-Iqaluit (ee-kha-lu-eet) largest community in Nunavut; population 6000
-Canada's most northern capital
-became capital of Nunavut on April 1, 1999
-Iqaluit means the place of many fish.
-located on the southern tip of Baffin Island
-winter activities : dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice-fishing
-was an airbase in the 1940s
Picture: Northern Lights over Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada
by R. Glenn Jewers
science.nasa.gov/.../aurora/gallery_01feb03.
Industry
-tourism: People come to fish, hike, camp, hunt, to see the wildlife.
-mining: copper, lead, silver, zinc, iron, gold and diamonds, oil and gas
-fishing : whitefish and Arctic char
-factories : packaging the raw fish and meat
-sale of Inuit arts and crafts (soapstone sculptures)
Picture:
Traditional Inuit (Eskimo) ice fishing near Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Can.
© Staffan Widstrand/Corbis
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/192518...
People and Places
- Michael Kusugak writes about the Inuit way of life.
- Susan Aglukark is a singer-songwriter and the first Inuit recording artist.
-In April the people of Iqualuit celebrate the coming of Spring. They have dogteam and snowmobile races and contests (hunting, fishing, igloo-building, harpoon-throwing).
- INUKSUIT stone towers were used as markers. They were made by the Inuit long ago to show the way for travellers.
Picture: Women's DogSled Race to Celebrate Nunavut
www.caaws.ca/.../spring/dogsled_apr13.htm
History
-The first people to live in Nunavut were the Inuit.
-They used to live in small hunting and fishing camps.
-Fur trading posts were set up in the 1700s.
-In 1870 the territories belonged to Canada
-Inuit way of life changed. They forgot their native traditions.
-The Canadian government urged the Inuit to settle in communities.
-The Inuit requested their own territory.
Picture: An Inuit man works on a traditional igloo in Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Scientists say Far North peoples like Canada's Inuit have evolved to survive in colder climates.
by Kevin Frayer
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3917289/