The clock struck midnight. Fireworks lit up the
sky. The treeless Canadian city of Iqaluit erupted with cheering! Was it New
Year’s Eve? No, it was April 1, 1999. People were celebrating the birth of
Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory.
Nunavut is Canada’s first territory run by native
people. Its capital city is Iqaluit. The creation of Nunavut marked the first
change to Canada’s map in 50 years.
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Facts About Nunavut
|
|
|
Capital
|
Iqaluit
|
|
Population
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31,100
people
|
|
Rank
among provinces and territories in population
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13th
|
|
Major
cities
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Iqaluit,
Rankin Inlet
|
|
Area
|
808,000
square miles
2,090,000 square kilometers |
|
Rank
among provinces and territories in area
|
1st
|
|
Entry
into federation
|
April
1, 1999
|
|
Provincial
bird
|
Rock
Ptarmigan
|
|
Provincial
flower
|
Purple
Saxifrage
|
|
Abbreviation
|
NU
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A VAST LAND, FEW PEOPLE
Nunavut is located in Canada’s far north, in the
Canadian Arctic. Much of it reaches into the Arctic Circle, the area around the
North Pole. In fact, about 60 percent of Nunavut lies within the Arctic Circle.
Nunavut is bigger than any other territory or
province in Canada. It takes up one-fifth of the entire country. Despite its
great size, few people live there. That makes Nunavut the most sparsely
populated area in Canada.
In addition to Iqaluit, Nunavut contains just a few
dozen scattered communities. Some are on Nunavut’s mainland. The rest are on
islands that dot Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean.
WHY WAS NUNAVUT CREATED?
Nunavut is the native home of Inuit people. In
Inuktitut, the Inuit language, Nunavut means “our land.” For many years, the
Inuit argued that they had a right to own a part of Canada. After all, their
people had lived in Canada long before European settlers arrived.
Eventually, the Canadian government agreed to create
Nunavut. In exchange, the Inuit gave up their claims to other traditional
lands.
Nunavut was formed by splitting the Northwest
Territories into a western part and an eastern part. The eastern part became
Nunavut. The western part is still known as the Northwest Territories.
WHAT’S IN NUNAVUT?
In the west, Nunavut has coastal plains and
large, flat plateaus. In the east are jagged, ice-covered mountains. In eastern
coastal areas, glaciers have carved deep, narrow bays, called fjords.
Nunavut has many islands in the Arctic Ocean. Some
of the islands are huge. One of them, Baffin Island, is the largest island in
Canada. Ellesmere Island’s Barbeau Peak, the highest mountain in the Canadian
Arctic, rises to 8,583 feet (2,616 meters).
Permanently frozen ground, called permafrost,
covers most of Nunavut. In some places, the permafrost is hundreds of feet
thick. This makes it virtually impossible to farm. But the territory has vast
natural resources that are attractive to mining companies.
A CHALLENGING PLACE TO LIVE
Life in Nunavut can be a challenge. Within the
Arctic Circle, the winters are very long, dark, and cold. How cold is it?
Winter temperatures can drop to -40º Fahrenheit (-40º Celsius) or lower.
Getting around isn’t easy. No roads or railways
connect Nunavut communities. People, along with food and other supplies, must
travel by airplane or boat. Sometimes the shipments can’t get through. Frozen
seas or Arctic blizzards can stop them.
Because of transportation difficulties, food and
supplies are expensive in Nunavut. Many Inuit get much of their food as they
always have, by hunting and fishing.
UNIQUE NATIONAL PARKS
Nunavut’s unique national parks are interesting places
to visit. Visitors to the parks enjoy dogsledding, mountain climbing, kayaking
and canoeing, fishing, and hiking.
Baffin Island’s Auyuittuq National Park Reserve was the
first national park within the Arctic Circle. There, you can see the stone
remains of houses built by the Thule people. These ancestors of the Inuit
arrived in the area some 800 years ago.
Also on Baffin Island is Sirmilik National Park.
Sirmilik means “the place of glaciers” in Inuktitut. The park is home to
walruses, polar bears, caribou, wolves, seals, whales, and many kinds of
seabirds.
Quttinirpaaq National Park is at the far northern end of
Ellesmere Island. Quttinirpaaq means “top of world” in Inuktitut. It’s
farther north than any other national park in the world. Although it is very
cold, Quttinirpaaq is a desert. It receives just a few inches of rain or snow a
year, making it one of the driest places in Canada.
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