RCAF Station Great Whale River | |
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Mid-Canada Line Sector Control Station 400 | |
Part of Mid-Canada Line | |
Kuujjuarapik, Quebec, Canada | |
Coordinates | 55°16′37″N77°44′20″W / 55.277°N 77.739°W |
Site information | |
Controlled by | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Site history | |
Built | 1955 |
Built by | Royal Canadian Air Force |
In use | 1955 - April 1965 |
RCAF Station Great Whale River was located at the mouth of the river with the same name on the shore of Hudson Bay. The town surrounding the former base is now known by its native name of Kuujjuarapik. Originally built in 1955 as a detachment, it was elevated to station status in 1957 when it became Sector Control Station 400 of the Mid-Canada Line. After the Mid-Canada Line project was terminated there was no longer any need for a military presence at the site, and RCAF Station Great Whale River closed on April 2 1965. While in operation, the station was supported by RCAF Station St. Hubert. The station's gravel runway is now administered by the government of Quebec and runs parallel to the shore of Hudson Bay. [1]
Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of 1,230,000 km2 (470,000 sq mi). It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba and southeast of Nunavut, but politically entirely part of Nunavut. It is an inland marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It drains a very large area, about 3,861,400 km2 (1,490,900 sq mi), that includes parts of southeastern Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, all of Manitoba, and parts of the U.S. states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Hudson Bay's southern arm is called James Bay.
James Bay is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island.
Nunavik is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of 443,684.71 km2 (171,307.62 sq mi) north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec and part of the wider Inuit Nunangat. Almost all of the 14,045 inhabitants of the region, of whom 90% are Inuit, live in fourteen northern villages on the coast of Nunavik and in the Cree reserved land (TC) of Whapmagoostui, near the northern village of Kuujjuarapik.
Shearwater Heliport, formerly known as Canadian Forces Base Shearwater and commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater and formerly named HMCS Shearwater, is a Canadian Forces facility located 4.5 nautical miles east southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Following a base rationalization program in the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces closed CFB Shearwater as a separate Canadian Forces base and realigned the property's various facilities into CFB Halifax. These include:
The Mid-Canada Line (MCL), also known as the McGill Fence, was a line of radar stations running east–west across the middle of Canada, used to provide early warning of a Soviet bomber attack on North America. It was built to supplement the Pinetree Line, which was located farther south. The majority of Mid-Canada Line stations were used only briefly from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, as the attack threat changed from bombers to ICBMs. As the MCL was closed down, the early warning role passed almost entirely to the newer and more capable DEW Line farther north.
A Canadian Forces base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Armed Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces base, it must station one or more major units.
Kuujjuaq, formerly known as Fort Chimo and by other names, is a former Hudson's Bay Company outpost at the mouth of the Koksoak River on Ungava Bay that has become the largest northern village in the Nunavik region of Quebec, Canada. It is the administrative capital of the Kativik Regional Government. Its population was 2,668 as of the 2021 census.
The District of Ungava was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories from 1895 to 1920, although it effectively ceased operation in 1912. It covered the northern portion of what is today Quebec, the interior of Labrador, and the offshore islands to the west and north of Quebec, which are now part of Nunavut.
Chisasibi is a village and Cree reserved land (TC) on the eastern shore of James Bay, in Eeyou Istchee, an equivalent territory (ET) in Nord-du-Québec, Canada. It is situated on the south shore of La Grande River, less than 10 km (6.2 mi) from the river's mouth. Chisasibi is one of nine Cree villages in the region, and is a member of the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec.
Whapmagoostui is the northernmost Cree village in Quebec, Canada, located at the mouth of the Great Whale River on the coast of Hudson Bay in Nunavik. About 906 Cree with about 650 Inuit, living in the neighbouring village of Kuujjuarapik. The community is accessible only by air and, in late summer, by boat. Whapmagoostui is about 250 km (160 mi) north of the nearest Cree village, Chisasibi.
Kuujjuarapik is the southernmost northern village at the mouth of the Great Whale River on the coast of Hudson Bay in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. Almost 1000 people, mostly Cree, live in the adjacent village of Whapmagoostui. The community is only accessible by air, Kuujjuarapik Airport and, in late summer, by boat. The nearest Inuit village is Umiujaq, about 160 km (99 mi) north-northeast of Kuujjuarapik. The police services in Kuujjuaraapik are provided by the Nunavik Police Service, formerly the Kativik Regional Police Force. Like most other northern villages in Quebec, there is an Inuit reserved land of the same name, Kuujjuarapik. However, unlike most other Inuit reserved lands, the Inuit reserved land of Kuujjuarapik is not adjacent to its eponymous northern village; rather, it is located considerably farther north and in fact borders on the Inuit reserved land of Umiujaq.
The James Bay Road, officially the Route Billy-Diamond Highway, is a remote wilderness highway winding its way through the Canadian Shield in northwestern Quebec and reaches into the James Bay region. It starts in Matagami as an extension of Route 109 and ends at Radisson. The road is fully paved, well maintained, and plowed during the winter. It was originally constructed to carry loads of 300 tons and has mostly gentle curves and hills with wide shoulders. The road is maintained by the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government. Connecting to other routes such as the Trans-Taiga Road and the Route du Nord, the highway draws tourists interested in reaching the remote wilderness surrounding James Bay, part of Hudson Bay.
Canadian Forces Base St. Hubert was a Canadian Forces Base in the city of Saint-Hubert, Quebec. The base began as a civilian airfield in the 1920s and was later also used by RCAF auxiliary (reserve) squadrons, beginning in the mid-1930s. It became a fully-fledged RCAF station early in World War II, being extensively used for training as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After the war, it grew into one of the most important air bases in Canada, and remained so for decades.
Inukjuak is a northern village located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in Nunavik, in the Nord-du-Québec region of northern Quebec, Canada. Its population is 1,821 as of the 2021 Canadian Census. An older spelling is Inoucdjouac; its former name was Port Harrison.
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The Great Whale River is a river in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. It flows from Lac Saint-Luson through Lac Bienville west to Hudson Bay. While the lower section of the river has a very powerful current, with many waterfalls and rapids, the upper section consists of a series of lakes interconnected by steep rapids and ledges.
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Air Defence Command was a command of the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the Canadian Armed Forces, active from 1951 to 1975.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station St. Sylvestre was a Radar station of the Canadian Pinetree Line, located at Saint-Sylvestre, Quebec, in the Lotbinière Region, sixty-nine kilometres south Quebec City. Construction starting in 1952, the Station opened on 15 September 1953, first as RCAF Station Ste-Marie, being renamed RCAF Station St. Sylvestre, on 1 August 1955.
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RCAF Station Great Whale River was located at the mouth of the river of the same name and the shores of southeastern Hudson Bay. It began as a detachment in November 1955, and attained station status in January 1957. The station closed on 2 April 1965. During its operations, Great Whale River was supported by RCAF Station St.Hubert. The personnel at the station were quite involved in the community affairs of the area. In November 1964, they arranged for 104 Composite Unit to fly Christmas gifts in for the Indian and Eskimo party. As well, 436 (Transport) Squadron flew up Christmas supplies for the station and at the same time did a Christmas tree drop over the Blecher Islands for the Eskimos and members of the department of Native Affairs. Today the community is known by the native name Kuujjuarapik. The 5,085 x 150 foot gravel runway which parallels Hudson Bay is administered by the Government of Quebec. The Great Whale River is now called Grande Riviere de la Baleine.