Back River Great Fish River | |
---|---|
![]() Rock garden on the Back River in July 2006 | |
Etymology | Named after Sir George Back |
Native name | |
Location | |
Country | Canada |
Territories | Nunavut & Northwest Territories |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Unnamed lake |
• location | North Slave Region, Northwest Territories |
• coordinates | 64°43′38″N108°02′08″W / 64.72722°N 108.03556°W [1] |
• elevation | 382 m (1,253 ft) |
Mouth | Chantrey Inlet, Arctic Ocean |
• location | Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut |
• coordinates | 67°16′00″N95°15′00″W / 67.26667°N 95.25000°W [2] |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 974 km (605 mi) |
Basin size | 106,500 km2 (41,100 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• average | 612 m3/s (21,600 cu ft/s) |
[4] [5] |
The Back River, formerly Backs River [6] (Dogrib: Thlewechodyeth, [7] Inuktitut: Haningayok, [8] or Great Fish River), is the 20th longest Canadian river and is located in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It rises at an unnamed lake in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories and flows more than 974 km (605 mi) [9] mostly through the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, to its mouth at the Arctic Ocean in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut.
The river begins at the outflow of an unnamed lake at an elevation of 382 m (1,253 ft) and flows west into Sussex Lake, then north to Muskox Lake, at the border between the Northwest Territories and the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, where it takes in the left tributary Icy River. It flows over the Muskox Rapids, takes in the left tributary Contwoyto River, and heads east through the Heywood Range. The Back River heads over the Malley Rapids, takes in the left tributary Siorak River and enters the long lake-expansion Lake Beechey in a southeast direction. It heads east, takes in the right tributary Baillie River, left tributary Warren River, right tributary Jervoise River, passes over the Hawk Rapids, takes in the right tributary McKinley River and right tributary Consul River. Between the Baillie and Consul Rivers, the Back River forms the northern border of the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary. [10] The river turns northeast, takes in the left tributary Bullen River, and reaches Pelly Lake at an elevation of 155 m (509 ft). It flows east through, in immediate succession: Upper Garry Lake, where it takes in the right tributary Morse River; Garry Lake; Lower Garry Lake; Buliard Lake; Upper MacDougall Lake; and Lower MacDougall Lake. The Back River then heads over the Rock Rapids, Sinclair Falls, Escape Rapids, Sandhill Rapids, and Wolf Rapids, and takes in the right tributary Meadowbank River. The river curves around Mount Meadowbank, takes in the right tributary Hermann River and left tributary Montresor River, passes McKay Peak, heads over the Whirlpool Rapids, and reaches Franklin Lake. It continues northeast, takes in the right tributary Mistake River, passes north into Kitikmeot Region, takes in the right tributary Hayes River and reaches its mouth at Cockburn Bay on Chantrey Inlet on the Arctic Ocean. [7]
The river has a watershed of 106,500 km2 (41,120 sq mi) [9] and a mean discharge of 612 m3 (21,613 cu ft) per second. [7] The river is 974 km (605 mi) long to the Muskox Lake outlet, [9] though the river continues further upstream to its source.
Like the Coppermine, Hood, Dubawnt or Kazan, which are other large rivers in this part of Canada, it is navigable only by experienced canoeists because of the numerous and challenging 83 rapids.
The Back River is the historic homeland of the Haningayogmiut (or Hanningajurmiut) Copper Inuit, also referred to as the Ualininmiut by their Caribou Inuit northern neighbours, the Utkusiksalinmiut. [12] The Kaernermiut (also Kainermiut) and the southerly Ahiagmiut of the Copper Inuit also frequented this area. The Back River and Thelon River were also the northern and northeastern edges of the tribal territories of the enemy Yellowknives and Chipewyan to the south.
Its first exploration by Europeans was led by George Back in 1834, [7] as part of an expedition initially mounted to seek the 1829 expedition of Captain John Ross. [13] Back learned of the river from local guides, and throughout his memoir of the expedition he referred to the river as the "Thlew-ee-cho-dezeth", which he translated as "Great Fish River". [13] Later 19th-century explorers habitually referred to the river as "Back's Great Fish River", but gradually this was shortened to "Back River" over time. [14]
On abandoning their ships to the ice, the remaining members of Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition to map a Northwest Passage set out for the Back River but did not survive. [15] In search of them, James Anderson and James Stewart of the Hudson's Bay Company descended the river in 1855 to Chantrey Bay and Montreal Island.
After a hiatus of slightly over 100 years, it was again descended in 1962 by two groups. A British group of four young men was led by Robert Cundy, who wrote a book about their descent called Beacon Six. They started at Beechey Lake paddling three foldup kayaks, one of which was destroyed on the expedition. An American group of four led by Austin Hoyt started at the source of the river, Sussex Lake, with two cedar canvas canoes. Both groups filmed their trips. The British film, Beacon Six, was televised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Over the course of 17 months in 1963–1965, anthropologist Jean Briggs did field research with the Utkusiksalinmiut Inuit living at the opening of Back River and Chantrey Inlet, resulting in her work Never in Anger, as well as helping to compile an Utkuhiksalik dictionary. [16] [17]
The area around the river is full of wildlife, with many fish in the river, as well as caribou, muskoxen, and wolves in the area, with occasional sightings of brown bears, wolverines and Arctic hares. Polar bears are also found as the river nears the Arctic Ocean. The Middle Back River Important Bird Area, located on the river in the Pelly Lake to Lower Garry Lake segment, is a significant habitat for Canada geese, the lesser snow goose and other waterfowl. [18]
Like other areas in Northern Canada, Back River is subject to very cold weather and a persistent Arctic wind that gusts up to gale force.
The Back River constitutes a long and difficult voyage, [19] taking over a month of hard work by strong and experienced Arctic (duo) canoeists. The Back is much more challenging than either the Kazan River or the Dubawnt River. Many rapids end in dense "rock gardens" rendering portaging often mandatory. Such portages must be conducted on bare rocks and occasionally unstable boulders. The need for portage is generally lower after a set of rapids known as the "Escape Rapids", thereafter very many rapids (but not all) can be run, as the river becomes less rocky and risky. Water level permitting, two further areas of runable rapids are notable: Sandhill rapids generally navigated on the left bank, Wolf rapids on the right.
Bear spray is recommended as a protection against polar bears on stretches of the river near the Arctic Ocean. Cooking fuel must also be brought in, as the river is above the tree line, and all vegetation is low-lying and not suitable for use as fuel.
The source of the river can be reached by floatplane from Yellowknife, N.W.T. At the end of the trip, a bush plane can be called in from Baker Lake in Nunavut for a landing in a prearranged spot in the tundra. One must make sure that a rigid canoe can be attached to the exterior of the bush plane. If not, a foldable canoe should be used instead of a rigid one.
The river can also be travelled to its end, where a boat tow can be arranged to the Inuit community of Gjoa Haven, which has commercial air service back to Yellowknife. If planning a canoeing trip on the river, due to the weather, it is generally recommended to have navigated Garry Lake by August 8, the mark of the seasonal change to worse weather. It needs to be noted that being windbound can happen at any time. Due to the proximity to the Arctic Circle and the associated cold, any capsizing can easily conclude in hypothermia and death. A spray deck-equipped canoe is strongly recommended both for lakes and rapids.
[ citation needed ]
Rankin Inlet is an Inuit hamlet on the Kudlulik Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest hamlet and second-largest settlement in Nunavut, after the territorial capital, Iqaluit. On the northwestern Hudson Bay, between Chesterfield Inlet and Arviat, it is the regional centre for the Kivalliq Region.
Baker Lake is a hamlet in the Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut on mainland Canada. Located 320 km (200 mi) inland from Hudson Bay, it is near the nation's geographical centre, and is notable for being Nunavut's sole inland community. The hamlet is located at the mouth of the Thelon River on the shore of Baker Lake. The community was given its English name in 1761 from Captain William Christopher who named it after Sir William Baker, the 11th Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.
The Thelon River stretches 900 kilometres (560 mi) across northern Canada. Its source is Whitefish Lake in the Northwest Territories, and it flows east to Baker Lake in Nunavut. The Thelon ultimately drains into Hudson Bay at Chesterfield Inlet.
The Hood River of Nunavut, Canada, is a 400 km (250 mi) long river draining into the Arctic Ocean from its headwaters in the interior of Canada's tundra at Napaktulik Lake, close to the Northwest Territories border. The river ends at Arctic Sound near the community of Bathurst Inlet. The river is above the Arctic Circle and tree line.
Whale Cove, is a hamlet located 74 km (46 mi) south southwest of Rankin Inlet, 145 km (90 mi) northeast of Arviat, in the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada, on the western shore of Hudson Bay.
The Kazan River, is a Canadian Heritage River located in Nunavut, Canada. The Dene name for the river was Kasba-tue meaning "white partridge river." The name was apparently changed to Kazan in the late 19th century due to the influence of Order of Mary Immaculate missionaries. The river headwaters are in northern Saskatchewan at Kasba Lake, and it flows north for about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) before emptying into Baker Lake, on the opposite side of the mouth of the Thelon River. Along its course the river flows through several lakes, including Ennadai Lake and Yathkyed Lake, over the Kazan Falls, down a red sandstone gorge and through both boreal forest and tundra. It is the last section of the river, below Ennadai Lake, that is above the timber line and is designated a Canadian Heritage River.
The Burnside River is a river in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It has its headwaters at Contwoyto Lake, flows across the Precambrian Shield's Contwoyto Plateau, flows through isolated and rugged tundra, into Lake Kathawachaga, and through the Wilberforce Hills region. Before emptying into Bathurst Inlet on the Arctic Ocean, the Mara River empties into the Burnside River. The river has an island, Nadlak, historically notable for Inuit use of caribou antlers as hut roof infrastructures.
Dubawnt Lake is a lake in the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is 3,630 km2 (1,400 sq mi) in size and has several islands. It is about 320 km (200 mi) north of the Four Corners, about 480 km (300 mi) west of Hudson Bay and about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. To the northwest is the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary. Its main inlet and outlet is the north-flowing Dubawnt River which joins the Thelon River at Beverly Lake. The Thelon flows east to Hudson Bay at Chesterfield Inlet. It is on the line of contact between the Sayisi Dene band of Eastern Caribou-Eater Chipewyan people and the Harvaqtuurmiut and Ihalmiut bands of Caribou Inuit. The first recorded European to reach the lake was Samuel Hearne in 1770, but it remained largely unknown to outsiders until it was explored by Joseph Tyrrell in 1893. There are no permanent settlements but there are fly-in fish camps where large lake trout can be caught during the two month ice-free season.
Kivallirmiut, also called the Caribou Inuit, barren-ground caribou hunters, are Inuit who live west of Hudson Bay in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, between 61° and 65° N and 90° and 102° W in Northern Canada.
The Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, at 52,000 square kilometres (20,077 sq mi), over twice the area of Belgium, is the largest wildlife refuge in Canada. It is located in northern Canada's Arctic region, north of the tree line, straddling the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, halfway between Baker Lake and Yellowknife, and bordered on the north between the Baillie River on the west and the Consul River at the east by the Back River. It is the namesake of the Thelon River, whose river valley is resplendent with boreal forest biological diversity, hence its identification as a "Biological Site of Universal Importance" by the International Biological Program (IBP) in the 1960s.
Beverly Lake is a lake in the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located north of the Arctic tree line about 150 km (93 mi) northwest of Baker Lake, Nunavut. The western half of the lake is within Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary. The Thelon River, at the confluence with the Dubawnt River, empties into the lake's southwestern bank. The Kazan River empties into the Thelon River at Beverly Lake's southeastern bank, between Beverly and Aberdeen Lakes. A delta occurs on the Beverly Lake's southern edge, which includes the Isarurjuaq Peninsula.
Tahiryuaq, formerly Ferguson Lake, is located on southern Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, in northern Canada. It drains westward into Iqaluktuuq which is a segment of the Ekalluk River, 8.0 km (5 mi) from the northeastern side of Wellington Bay (Ekaloktok), on Dease Strait, Arctic Ocean Ferguson Lake was the namesake of Constable Ferguson, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police member, but is now known by the original name of Tahiryuaq
Qamanirjuaq Lake formerly Kaminuriak Lake, pronunciation: ka-min-YOO-ree-ak; meaning: "huge lake adjoining a river at both ends", is a lake in the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is the first of several named lakes on the eastward flow of the Ferguson River through the eastern barrenlands. The lake is located about 2 km (1 mi) downstream from Ferguson Lake, and adjacent upstream to Parker Lake South. The Ferguson River passes through a series of rapids before entering the western arm of Qamanirjuaq Lake.
Garry Lake is a lake in sub-Arctic Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. As a portion of the Back River waterway, Garry Lake originates directly east of Lake Pelly and drains to the east by the Back River. A set of rapids separate Buliard Lake from Garry Lake. Two other sets of rapids separate Garry Lake's three sections which are also differentiated by elevation. Garry Lakes are isolated from nearby communities.
Copper Inuit, also known as Inuinnait and Kitlinermiut, are a Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line, in what is now the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories. Most of them historically lived in the area around Coronation Gulf, on Victoria Island, and southern Banks Island.
The Hayes River is a river in the Kitikmeot and Kivalliq Regions of Nunavut, Canada. It is in the Arctic Ocean drainage basin and is a tributary of the Back River.
Tourism in Nunavut focuses on outdoor activities and culture of the local Inuit, the indigenous people of Nunavut. Wildlife watching is a popular tourist attraction, as the territory is home to a number of wildlife and bird sanctuaries. It is possible to spot walrus, polar bears, a large variety of birds and belugas throughout Nunavut. Outdoor adventure activities are also popular. Nunavut has a wide and lengthy river system, meaning that there are a large number of canoeing and kayaking opportunities to suit experienced travellers. Nunavut's vast expanse of uninhabited territory offers many opportunities for hiking and camping. However, the region's often extreme conditions and remote location often necessitates a guide, even for experienced campers.
Utkuhiksalik, Utkuhikhalik, Utkuhikhaliq, Utkuhiksalingmiutitut, Utkuhiksalingmiutut, Utkuhiksalingmiut Inuktitut, Utku, Gjoa Haven dialect, is a sub-dialect of Natsilingmiutut (Nattiliŋmiut) dialect of Inuvialuktun language once spoken in the Utkuhiksalik area of Nunavut, and now spoken mainly by elders in Uqsuqtuuq and Qamani'tuaq on mainland Canada. It is generally written in Inuktitut syllabics.
The Barren Grounds are a large area of tundra located in mainland Nunavut and stretching into the Northwest Territories in northern Canada. The Barren Grounds is nearly uninhabited with the exception of a few coastal villages and towns in Nunavut. The Barren Lands First Nation are located in northern Manitoba close to the Saskatchewan border.
The UtkuhiksalingmiutUkukhalingmiut, Utkukhalingmiut —the people of the place where there is soapstone—is one of 48 groups of Inuit in what is now Nunavut, Canada. Their traditional land was around Chantrey Inlet (Tariunnuaq) area, near the estuary of the Back River in, what was then called, the Keewatin District of the Northwest Territories. The Utkuhiksalingmiut followed the traditional hunter-nomadic life moving from fishing the camp near the mouth of the Back River on Chantrey Inlet to their caribou hunting camp in the Garry Lake area, living in winter snow houses (igloos) and caribou skin tents in the summer. They subsisted mainly on trout, whitefish, and barren-ground caribou.