Koukdjuak River

Last updated
Koukdjuak River
Koukdjuak River 2019-08-19 Sentinel-2 L2A Highlight Optimized Natural Color(2).jpg
Location
Country Canada
Territory Nunavut
Physical characteristics
Source Nettilling Lake
  locationSouthern Baffin Island
  coordinates 66°34′48″N71°21′23″W / 66.58000°N 71.35639°W / 66.58000; -71.35639
  elevation28 m (92 ft) [1]
Mouth Foxe Basin
  coordinates
66°44′30″N73°03′21″W / 66.74167°N 73.05583°W / 66.74167; -73.05583
  elevation
0 ft (0 m) [2]
Length80 km (50 mi) [3]
Basin size66,542.8 km2 (25,692.3 sq mi) [3]
Discharge 
  locationNear mouth
  average(Period: 1971–2000)689.2 m3/s (24,340 cu ft/s) [3]
Basin features
River system Koukdjuak River

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 (formerly Northwest Territories), northern Canada.

Contents

The first non-Inuit who specifically explored the river was the Canadian Arctic explorer/ornithologist, J. Dewey Soper. The northern boundary of the Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary is the middle thread of the Koukdjuak River. The river is also notable as a Barren-ground caribou migration crossing and for Arctic charr fishing. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baffin Island</span> Largest Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada

Baffin Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second largest island in the Americas, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banks Island</span> Inhabited island in the Northwest Territories, Canada

Banks Island is one of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago. Situated in the Inuvik Region, and part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, of the Northwest Territories, it is separated from Victoria Island to its east by the Prince of Wales Strait and from the mainland by Amundsen Gulf to its south. The Beaufort Sea lies to its west, and to its northeast M'Clure Strait separates the island from Prince Patrick Island and Melville Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pond Inlet</span> Place in Nunavut, Canada

Pond Inlet is a small, predominantly Inuit community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada, located on northern Baffin Island. To the Inuit the name of the place "is and always has been Mittimatalik." The Scottish explorer Sir John Ross had named an arm of the sea that separates Bylot Island from Baffin Island as Pond's Bay, and the hamlet now shares that name. On 29 August 1921, the Hudson's Bay Company opened its trading post near the Inuit camp and named it Pond Inlet, marking the expansion of its trading empire into the High Arctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitikmeot Region</span> Region in Nunavut, Canada

Kitikmeot Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island. The regional centre is Cambridge Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bylot Island</span> Uninhabited island off Baffin Island in Nunavut Territory, Canada

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.

Soper is an occupational surname for a soaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foxe Basin</span> Oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut</span> Abandoned settlement in Nunavut, Canada

Bathurst Inlet, is a small Inuit community located in Bathurst Inlet in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nettilling Lake</span> Canadian freshwater lake

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary</span> Protected area and Ramsar site, Nunavut, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadjuak Lake</span> Lake in Nunavut, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly Lake (Nunavut)</span> Lake in Nunavut, Canada

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.

Joseph Dewey Soper was a widely traveled Canadian Arctic ornithologist, explorer, zoologist, and prolific author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Plain of the Koukdjuak</span>

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornaday River</span> River in Canada

Hornaday River is a waterway located above the Arctic Circle on the mainland of Northern Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuvialuit Settlement Region</span> Region in Canada

The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR, located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement by the Government of Canada for the Inuvialuit people. It spans 90,650 km2 (35,000 sq mi) of land, mostly above the tree line, and includes several subregions: the Beaufort Sea, the Mackenzie River delta, the northern portion of Yukon, and the northwest portion of the Northwest Territories. The ISR includes both Crown Lands and Inuvialuit Private Lands.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Parry</span> Headland in Canadas Northwest Territories

Cape Parry is a headland in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located at the northern tip of the Parry Peninsula, it projects into Amundsen Gulf. The nearest settlement is Paulatuk, 100 km (62 mi) to the south, and Fiji Island is located 9 km (5.6 mi) to the west. Cape Parry was formerly accessible through Cape Parry Airport that was located at the Distant Early Warning Line. The airport was listed as abandoned after the closure of the DEW line site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Canada

The Canadian Low Arctic Tundra ecoregion covers a rolling landscape of shrubby tundra vegetation along the northern edge of the mainland Canada along the border of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and a small portion in Quebec on the northeast coast of Hudson Bay. The region is important for large herds of caribou and other large mammals, and for large nesting colonies of birds such as snow geese. The region is mostly intact, with 95% remaining intact.

References

  1. Source elevation derived from Google Earth.
  2. Mouth elevation derived from Google Earth.
  3. 1 2 3 "West Hudson Bay".
  4. "Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations". canlii.org. Retrieved 2008-01-21.

Further reading

66°43′00″N73°00′00″W / 66.71667°N 73.00000°W / 66.71667; -73.00000 [1]


  1. "Koukdjuak River". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada.
  2. "Koukdjuak River". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada.