Qaqaluit Island

Qaqaluit Island
Geography
Location	Davis Strait
Coordinates	67°13′01″N62°32′46″W / 67.217°N 62.546°W Coordinates: 67°13′01″N62°32′46″W / 67.217°N 62.546°W
Archipelago	Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Administration
	Canada
Nunavut	Nunavut
Region	Qikiqtaaluk
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Last updated September 19, 2019

Qaqaluit Island (meaning: "fulmar") is one of eastern Baffin Island's small, offshore, uninhabited islands, located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. Along with Padloping Island and Durban Island, it is situated off Cumberland Peninsula within Davis Strait's Merchants Bay.^[1]

The fulmars are tubenosed seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene.

Baffin Island mostly Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada

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) and its population is about 13,148. It is located in the region of 70° N and 75° W.

The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region or Baffin Region is the easternmost 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.

Geography

Its characteristics include coastal cliffs and rocky shores.

Fauna

Harp seal, polar bear, and walrus frequent the area.

The harp seal or saddleback seal,Pagophilus groenlandicus is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus Phoca with a number of other species, it was reclassified into the monotypic genus Pagophilus in 1844. In Latin, its scientific name translates to "ice-lover from Greenland," and its taxonomic synonym, Phoca groenlandica translates to "Greenlandic seal."

The polar bear is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear. A boar weighs around 350–700 kg (772–1,543 lb), while a sow is about half that size. Polar bears are the largest land carnivores currently in existence, rivaled only by the Kodiak bear. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. Their scientific name means "maritime bear" and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present. Because of their dependence on the sea ice, polar bears are classified as marine mammals.

The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus. This species is subdivided into two subspecies: the Atlantic walrus which lives in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific walrus which lives in the Pacific Ocean.

Conservation

The newly created Qaqulluit National Wildlife Area ^[2] extends beyond the island to also include the Reid Bay Important Bird Area on Baffin Island.^[3]

Located on the island's northeastern tip, Cape Searle is another a Canadian Important Bird Area, an International Biological Program site and a Key Terrestrial Bird Habitat site.^[4]

Cape Searle is an uninhabited headland located on Qaqaluit Island's northeastern tip, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada.

Important Bird Area area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of birds populations

An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

The International Biological Program (IBP) was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies. Organized in the wake of the successful International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-1958, the International Biological Program was an attempt to apply the methods of big science to ecosystem ecology and pressing environmental issues.

Related Research Articles

Southampton Island island in Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian 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 in Inuktitut Salliq.

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.

Akpatok Island is one of the uninhabited Canadian Arctic islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest island in Ungava Bay on the northern coast of Quebec. The island is named for the Akpat, the thick-billed murre, which live on ledges along the limestone cliffs surrounding the island.

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, Oliver Sound, and Baffin Island's Borden Peninsula. Much of the park is bordered by water.

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.

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 Twin Islands are similarly shaped Arctic islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. They are located in central James Bay, 56 km (35 mi) north east of Akimiski Island, and 58 km (36 mi) west of Quebec. The group includes North Twin and South Twin islands.

Berlinguet Inlet is a body of water within the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It runs west-east at Admiralty Inlet's southern end, separated from Berlinguet Bay, which opens into the Gulf of Boothia, by a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) isthmus. Baffin Island's Brodeur Peninsula is to the north.

Scott Inlet is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of Baffin Bay. Scott Island lies in its middle. At its south end, it splits into Clark and Gibbs Fiords. The Inuit community of Clyde River is approximately 120 km (75 mi) to the southeast.

Awrey Island is an uninhabited island located in Hudson Bay, within the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is situated 1 km (0.62 mi) east of Mansel Island. Quebec's Ungava Peninsula is to the east.

Baillarge Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is the second waterway to press eastward from Admiralty Inlet into Baffin Island. The southern point of its mouth is named Ship Point.

Cape Liddon is an uninhabited headland on Devon Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the southwestern coast of the island at Radstock Bay.

Cape Graham Moore is an uninhabited headland on Bylot Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located at the island's southeastern tip protruding into Lancaster Sound. The community of Pond Inlet is 70 km (43 mi) to the southwest.

Reid Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Davis Strait off Baffin Island's Cumberland Sound.

Fraser Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located at the mouth of Hudson Bay off Nottingham Island's northwestern tip. The closest community is the Inuit hamlet of Cape Dorset, 120 km (75 mi) to the northeast on Baffin Island.

Hantzsch Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Frobisher Bay off the southern tip of Baffin Island's Meta Incognita Peninsula and the northeastern tip of Edgell Island. The closest community is the Inuit hamlet of Sanikiluaq, 800 km (500 mi) to the west on Flaherty Island.

The uninhabited Payne Islands are an archipelago, members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Ungava Bay Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. They are located in Payne Bay, a waterway in western Ungava Bay, just east of the Arnaud River and the community of Kangirsuk on Quebec's Ungava Peninsula.

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 IV by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Nirjutiqavvik National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area on Coburg Island within Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Baffin Bay's Lady Ann Strait between Ellesmere Island, to the north, and Devon Island to the south. The NWA includes Coburg Island and its surrounding marine area.

References

↑ "Qaqaluit Island, Nunavut, Canada". travelingluck.com. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
↑ "Three New National Wildlife Areas Protect Key Habitat in Nunavut". ec.gc.ca. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
↑ "Canada Establishes Three National Wildlife Areas in Nunavut: Nearly Half a Million Hectares to be Preserved". naturecanada.ca. August 22, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
↑ "Cape Searle". bsc-eoc.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2009-04-23.

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[travelingluck-1] "Qaqaluit Island, Nunavut, Canada". travelingluck.com. Retrieved 2009-04-23.

[Three-2] "Three New National Wildlife Areas Protect Key Habitat in Nunavut". ec.gc.ca. Retrieved 2009-09-20.

[naturecanada-3] "Canada Establishes Three National Wildlife Areas in Nunavut: Nearly Half a Million Hectares to be Preserved". naturecanada.ca. August 22, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-23.

[iba-4] "Cape Searle". bsc-eoc.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2009-04-23.