The Arctic is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States (Alaska). Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost containing tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places.
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region. The appellation "Thule" originates from the location of Thule in northwest Greenland, facing Canada, where the archaeological remains of the people were first found at Comer's Midden. The links between the Thule and the Inuit are biological, cultural, and linguistic.
The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region or Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut name for Baffin Island. Although the Qikiqtaaluk Region is the most commonly used name in official contexts, several notable public organizations, including Statistics Canada prefer the older term Baffin Region.
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.
King William Island is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, which is part of the Arctic Archipelago. In area it is between 12,516 km2 (4,832 sq mi) and 13,111 km2 (5,062 sq mi) making it the 61st-largest island in the world and Canada's 15th-largest island. Its population, as of the 2016 census, was 1,279, all of whom live in the island's only community, Gjoa Haven.
The Sadlermiut were an Inuit group living in near isolation mainly on and around Coats Island, Walrus Island, and Southampton Island in Hudson Bay. They survived into the early 20th century and were thought by some to have been the last remnants of the Dorset culture as they had preserved a culture and dialect distinct from the mainland Inuit. Despite their culture and local traditions seeming to show combined elements of both the Dorset and Thule societies, genetic studies show no Dorset admixture and prove a sole Inuit ancestry leading many to conclude the cultural difference may be entirely due to their isolation from the mainland Inuit. Research published in 2015 found that the Sadlermiut were genetically Thule who had somehow acquired Dorset cultural features, such as stone technology. It remains a mystery how they acquired Dorset technology in the absence of obvious genetic admixture such as through intermarrying.
Kinngait, formerly known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada.
The history of Nunavut covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Eskimo thousands of years ago to present day. Prior to the colonization of the continent by Europeans, the lands encompassing present-day Nunavut were inhabited by several historical cultural groups, including the Pre-Dorset, the Dorsets, the Thule and their descendants, the Inuit.
The Canadian territory of Nunavut covers about 1.9 million square kilometres of land and water including part of the mainland, most of the Arctic islands, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay which belonged to the Northwest Territories. This makes it the fifth largest country subdivision in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 13th in area, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nunavut has land borders with Manitoba, the Northwest Territories on several islands as well as the mainland, and a tiny land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on Killiniq Island.
Nunavut is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, which provided this territory to the Inuit for independent government. The boundaries had been drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map in half a century since the province of Newfoundland was admitted in 1949.
Cape Wolstenholme is a cape and is the extreme northernmost point of the province of Quebec, Canada. Located on the Hudson Strait, about 28 kilometres (17 mi) north-east of Quebec's northernmost settlement of Ivujivik, it is also the northernmost tip of the Ungava Peninsula, which is in turn the northernmost part of the Labrador Peninsula.
Saarru formerly Alareak Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is a Baffin Island offshore island in Hudson Strait on the southwest side of Andrew Gordon Bay. It is situated at approximately 1 m above sea level.
Saqajaa {Inuktitut syllabics: ᓴᖃᔮ) formerly Sakkiak Island is one of the uninhabited Canadian arctic islands located in Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. It is a Baffin Island offshore island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, separated by deep water from Cape Dorset 64°10′40″N76°29′00″W, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) to the south-southwest. The island is approximately 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) in size, 2.25 mi (3.62 km) long, and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide. The elevation is approximately 65 m (213 ft) above sea level.
Ukaliqtuuq formerly Okolli Island is one of the Canadian arctic islands located in Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. It is a Baffin Island offshore island in Qikiqtaaluk Region. The island is 7.2 km (4.5 mi) long and 2.4 km (1.5 mi) wide. The elevation is 107 m (351 ft) above sea level.
Dorset Island or Cape Dorset Island is one of the Canadian Arctic islands located in Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the Foxe Peninsula area of southwestern Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region. It is serviced by an airport and a harbour.
Nunarijjait formerly Nunajuak Island is one of the uninhabited Canadian arctic islands located in the Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. It is a Baffin Island offshore island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region. The elevation is approximately 1 m above sea level.
Gudmusson Island is one of the Canadian arctic islands located in Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. It is a Baffin Island offshore island in Qikiqtaaluk Region. Cape Dorset, an Inuit hamlet on Dorset Island, is approximately 37.7 km (23.4 mi) away.
The Sheer Islands are Canadian arctic islands that are located in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. They are a Baffin Island offshore island group in Hudson Strait. The islands are situated approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) north of Cape Tanfield and form part of the north side of Itivirk Bay.
The Strathcona Islands are uninhabited Canadian arctic islands located in Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. They are a Baffin Island offshore island group in Qikiqtaaluk Region lying from 2 mi (3.2 km) to 9 mi (14 km) west of Cape Colmer. The group consists of a large island that rises in a series of rocky ridges to 183 m (600 ft); its south side is low and irregular. There are also several small, rocky islands.
Fort Ross is an abandoned former trading post on Somerset Island, in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. Founded in 1937, it was the last trading post to be established by the Hudson's Bay Company. It was operational for only eleven years, being abandoned in 1948, as severe ice conditions in the surrounding waters made the site hard to reach and economically unviable.
