Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada |
Coordinates | 65°42′09″N73°29′30″W / 65.70250°N 73.49167°W |
Area | 107,900 hectares |
Established | 1957-01-01 |
Governing body | Nunavut |
Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary on western Baffin Island within part of the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak in Northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. [1] It is classified as Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) under the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [2]
The sanctuary is located on the eastern shore of Foxe Basin, north of the Foxe Peninsula. Its size is 1,079 square kilometres (417 sq mi). [2] [3]
During J. Dewey Soper's 1928–31 Arctic expedition in this area, he located the blue goose (C. c. caerulescens) nesting grounds on Bluegoose Plain by Bowman Bay. [4] The wildlife sanctuary was established in 1957. It received national legal protection under the Wildlife Act of 2003.
The sanctuary protects marine and intertidal wildlife. [2] Industrial activities and hunting are prohibited. [5]
Baffin Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is 507,451 km2 (195,928 sq mi) with a population density of 0.03/km²; the population was 13,039 according to the 2021 Canadian census; and it is located at 68°N70°W. It also contains the city of Iqaluit, which is the capital of Nunavut.
Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as 41,214 km2 (15,913 sq mi) by Statistics Canada. It is the 34th largest island in the world and Canada's ninth largest island. The only settlement on Southampton Island is Coral Harbour, called Salliq in Inuktitut.
Bylot Island lies off the northern end of Baffin Island in Nunavut Territory, Canada. Eclipse Sound to the southeast and Navy Board Inlet to the southwest separate it from Baffin Island. Parry Channel lies to its northwest. At 11,067 km2 (4,273 sq mi) it is ranked 71st largest island in the world and Canada's 17th largest island. The island measures 180 km (110 mi) east to west and 110 km (68 mi) north to south and is one of the largest uninhabited islands in the world. While there are no permanent settlements on this Canadian Arctic island, Inuit from Pond Inlet and elsewhere regularly travel to Bylot Island. An Inuit seasonal hunting camp is located southwest of Cape Graham Moore.
Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by sea ice and drift ice made up of multiple ice floes.
Sirmilik National Park is a national park located in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada, established in 1999. Situated within the Arctic Cordillera, the park is composed of three areas: most of Bylot Island with the exception for a few areas that are Inuit-owned lands, Kangiqłuruluk, and Baffin Island's Borden Peninsula. Much of the park is bordered by water.
Nettilling Lake is a cold freshwater lake located toward the south end of Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is the 30th largest lake in the world by area, and the world's largest lake on an island, with an area of 5,542 km2 (2,140 sq mi) and a maximum length of 123 km (76 mi). The lake is in the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak about 280 km (170 mi) northwest of Iqaluit. The Arctic Circle crosses the lake. The lake's name is of Inuktitut origin, coming from the word for the adult ringed seal (netsilak). Franz Boas explored its southern shore in 1884.
The Arctic Cordillera is a terrestrial ecozone in northern Canada characterized by a vast, deeply dissected chain of mountain ranges extending along the northeastern flank of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from Ellesmere Island to the northeasternmost part of the Labrador Peninsula in northern Labrador and northern Quebec, Canada. It spans most of the eastern coast of Nunavut with high glaciated peaks rising through ice fields and some of Canada's largest ice caps, including the Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island. It is bounded to the east by Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea while its northern portion is bounded by the Arctic Ocean.
Coburg Island is an uninhabited island in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the members of Queen Elizabeth Islands located in Baffin Bay's Lady Ann Strait. It is separated from Ellesmere Island by Glacier Strait; Devon Island is to the south.
Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary, or Dewey Soper, is a migratory bird sanctuary in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in western Baffin Island, from Bowman Bay to the Koukdjuak River, and is named in honour of zoologist J. Dewey Soper. It is an 8,159 km2 (3,150 sq mi) area that was classified a wetland of international importance via the Ramsar Convention on May 24, 1982. The bird sanctuary supports nearly 30% of the breeding geese in Canada, making it the largest goose colony in the world. Up to two million birds of various species use the area for summer nesting, and it is also "habitat for one of Canada's major barren-ground caribou herds". The sanctuary was established in 1957, and is subject to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which defines and governs ownership, land use and hunting rights in the area.
Amadjuak Lake is a lake in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Along with Nettilling Lake, it is located in south-central Baffin Island's Great Plain of the Koukdjuak. It is 154 km (96 mi) south of Burwash Bay. The closest community is Iqaluit.
Joseph Dewey Soper was a widely traveled Canadian Arctic ornithologist, explorer, zoologist, and prolific author.
The Koukdjuak River begins at the outlet of Nettilling Lake and empties into the Arctic Ocean. It is the namesake of the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak located in the Foxe Basin on western Baffin Island, Nunavut, northern Canada.
The Great Plain of the Koukdjuak is located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut within the Canadian Arctic. It is the namesake of the Koukdjuak River in western Baffin Island on the southeastern coast of Foxe Basin. It stretches from Cory Bay to Hantzsch Bay, and then inland.
The Arctic Archipelago Marine Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a marine ecozone in the Canadian Arctic, encompassing Hudson Bay, James Bay, the internal waters and some shores of the islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and the shores of the territories, northern Ontario and western Quebec. Early exploration of these waters by Europeans were conducted to find a passage to the Orient, now referred to as the Northwest Passage.
The Akimiski Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a migratory bird sanctuary in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on Akimiski Island within James Bay. The sanctuary, established by the Canadian government on 1 January 1941, has federal conservation status. Taking up the eastern two-thirds of the island, it is 3,367 km2 (1,300 sq mi) in overall size, including a 1,664 km2 (642 sq mi) marine area. It includes marine, intertidal, and subtidal components, and is rated Category Ib by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Twin Islands Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Twin Islands, including North Twin Island and South Twin Island, within central James Bay.
Bowman Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Foxe Basin by northeastern Foxe Peninsula off Baffin Island. The nearest community is Cape Dorset, situated 204 km (127 mi) to the south, while Nuwata, a former settlement, is situated to the west.
Cory Bay is an arm of the Foxe Basin in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located on northeastern Foxe Peninsula, in western Baffin Island. The closest community is Cape Dorset, situated 170 km (110 mi) to the south, while Nuwata, a former settlement, is situated to the west.
Garnet Bay is an arm of the Foxe Basin in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the northern coast of Foxe Peninsula, in western Baffin Island. The closest community is Cape Dorset, situated 137 km (85 mi) to the south, while Nuwata, a former settlement, is situated to the west.
Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area is a proposed National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) located in the Qikiqtani Region of Nunavut, Canada. The goal of the marine conservation area is to work with local Inuit to conserve the rich biodiversity of Lancaster Sound and its adjacent waterways. Once formally established under the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, it will become the largest Parks Canada and Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) co-managed protected area and the second largest protected area in Canada after Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area.