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Nunavut's Physical Land Geography and Wildlife
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Physical Geography
By: Ryan Wilson & Seamus McConell
Nunavut is a large territory covering 1.9 million square kilometres. This is about one-fifth of Canada, or an area close to half of Europe excluding Russia.
The distance from Nunavut's western boundary to Cape Dyer on the east coast of Baffin Island is approximately 2,400 kilometres; in the other direction, it is about 2,700 kilometres from the Manitoba border to the northern tip of Ellesmere Island. (For comparison, the distance from Toronto to Calgary is about 2,700 kilometres. In Europe, the distance between London and Istanbul is slightly more than 2,400 kilometres.) The territory also includes Sanikiluaq and other islands in Hudson Bay and James Bay, hundreds of kilometres south of the main part of Nunavut. This chapter gives a general overview of the physical geography of this large area; see the chapters in Destinations for details on specific areas.
Approximately 45 per cent of the land area of Nunavut lies on the northern part of Canada's mainland. The rest is distributed throughout a large archipelago of hundreds of islands, including Baffin Island (Canada's largest), as well as Ellesmere, Axel Heiberg and Devon islands. Twelve of the 20 largest islands in Canada lie entirely within Nunavut. The Parry Channel, running from Lancaster Sound off Baffin Bay in the east to the Arctic Ocean in the west, separates the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the north from the rest of the territory.
Climate
Nunavut covers the northernmost and coldest parts of Canada. January mean surface temperatures range from around �20� C at the southern tip of Baffin Island, which is influenced by the Labrador Sea to the southeast, to less than �37� C around Lake Hazen on northern Ellesmere Island. As would be expected, the lowest winter temperatures occur in the northernmost part of the territory, but temperatures almost as low (below �35� C) are experienced in an area west of Wager Bay, almost 2,000 kilometres farther south. This is due to its continental location far from the major oceans.
July mean temperatures range from above 10� C in the southern part of the mainland to less than 2� C in the north. The maritime influence keeps the coastal areas relatively warm during the winter, but cool in the summer when the land is generally warmer than the sea. During the summer, inland locations such as the Tanquary Fiord-Lake Hazen area on Ellesmere Island, often enjoy temperatures well above the regional averages. Due to the low mean temperatures, there is continuous permafrost throughout the territory; only a rather shallow surface layer (15 to 150 centimetres) thaws every summer and refreezes during the following winter.
Annual precipitation ranges from more than 600 millimetres in an area on southern Baffin Island to less than 100 millimetres in the northern part; the area around Eureka on Ellesmere Island is the driest part of Nunavut. Precipitation levels are generally low, and only a small part of the territory receives more than 300 millimetres per year. The highest precipitation occurs in the highlands along the eastern seaboard from southern Baffin Island to Ellesmere Island, due to a combination of topography and the maritime influence of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay. While the northwestern part of the archipelago is close to the Arctic Ocean, the continuous ice cover reduces evaporation and limits the maritime influence of this water body. This part of Nunavut receives less precipitation than parts of the Sahara Desert, and can be described as a polar desert.
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Land Mammals
by: Ryan Wilson & Seamus McConnell
The land mammals of Nunavut - models of adaptive perfection - have helped sustain arctic inhabitants for more than 4,000 years by providing raw materials for tools, food, clothing and shelter.
Each species is uniquely adapted to survive Nunavut's harsh, unstable terrestrial ecosystems and temperature extremes. These mammals are subjected to wider temperature extremes than their arctic marine counterparts.
Since the abbreviated arctic summer provides resident populations little opportunity to recover from harsh winters, the diversity of species in Nunavut is low compared with warmer parts of the world. Nevertheless, the adaptive success of these few species is witnessed in the massive numbers their populations sometimes reach, and the proven ability of remnant populations to recover after decades at low numbers. In turn, the peoples who have lived in the Arctic have proven their ability to adapt, prospering despite dependence on such wildly fluctuating environments and resources.
With some planning and luck, visitors to Nunavut will have ample opportunities to observe many of these unique species in their natural habitats. The sheer expanse of the territory makes it unlikely that you could view all species during one visit, but residents can advise you where, when and how to see wildlife of greatest interest to you. Although not all populations are migratory, most exhibit seasonal behaviors that make them difficult to observe at some times.
If seeing terrestrial wildlife is an important part of your visit, plan on using an experienced guide to maximize viewing opportunities. A variety of tours, lasting from a day to over a week, are available through outfitters or booking agents in most communities (see the individual community chapters in Destinations). Information can also be obtained from the Renewable Resources Officer (look in the phone book for the GNWT's Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development) and the HTO in each community. Information on national parks is available from park staff.
Caribou
When Europeans arrived in North America, they encountered a species known to them as reindeer. American Indians called these animals caribou. In Nunavut they are known as tuktut.
More than 750,000 caribou - in two distinct ecological situations - live in Nunavut. On the mainland, caribou live on the tundra from spring to late summer, then migrate south into the vast boreal forest for the winter. Caribou that remain on the tundra throughout the year are, for the most part, restricted to relatively small islands. These animals are usually seen in smaller groups than the migratory caribou that winter among the southern trees. Nevertheless, caribou wintering on the tundra migrate between seasonal habitats within Nunavut. Most migrate over shorter distances than mainland caribou, but some on Baffin Island travel several hundred kilometres each spring.
Caribou can be seen near several communities in winter and spring. In summer and fall, bulls may be seen along the coast, but cows are usually farther inland near their June calving areas.
The caribou has always been the most important land mammal to the Inuit; until very recently the lives of Inuit were inextricably linked to these great wanderers. In times of scarcity the Inuit not only risked starvation, but faced winters of perpetual cold without the unsurpassed insulation of caribou-skin clothing. The unique structure of the caribou's hollow hair makes its fur extremely warm, yet easily worn. A hunter's caribou clothing needs to be replaced every few years because it will not retain its warmth.
In Nunavut, there are three subspecies of caribou. Barren-ground caribou is the most common, occupying the mainland and some southern arctic islands. Although caribou on Baffin Island are officially barren-ground caribou, recent genetic analyses suggest they may be distinct from other subspecies.
Peary caribou on the Queen Elizabeth Islands north of Barrow Strait and Lancaster Sound are recognized as "endangered" by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Peary caribou are naturally rare because the sparse vegetation in the High Arctic is often locked beneath snow and ice for up to 10 months each year. Many caribou on the mid-Arctic islands west of Baffin Island are interbreeds between barren-ground and Peary caribou.
A third subspecies, reindeer originally descended from Siberian stock, was introduced to the Belcher Islands in eastern Hudson Bay in 1978, about 100 years after native caribou had disappeared. Concerned that unrestricted growth of this free-ranging population could lead to overgrazing and potential future extinction, Inuit of Sanikiluaq have successfully stabilized their numbers at 600 to 800 animals.
Caribou bulls average 100 to 150 kilograms, while cows reach 75 to 100 kilograms. Subspecies differ in size, color and behavior. Peary caribou are the smallest. During summer, Peary and Baffin caribou are not known to form dense groups numbering in the thousands, as do the barren-ground caribou on the mainland, perhaps because they do not have to endure thick clouds of mosquitoes and other insects. Reindeer are typically seen in large, dense groups, even during winter.
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Marine Mammals
by: Ryan Wilson & Seamus McConnell
Traditionally, few cultures in the world were more dependent on the creatures of the sea than the Inuit.
Indeed, in a land where resources were often scarce, the fertile waters of Nunavut and its vast populations of marine mammals provided the raw materials that helped Inuit society thrive in one of the world's harshest climates. Even today, as massive material changes continue to reshape Inuit society, the people of Nunavut use marine mammals as important sources of food, clothing, and increasingly, revenue.
Seals
While Canadian seas are home to nine species of seals, three of the most bountiful in the Arctic are the ringed, harp, and bearded seal.
Other marine mammals may garner more attention than the demure ringed seal, but few play as integral a role in Inuit society. For nearly four millennia, Inuit have relied extensively on natsiq, the smallest and most common marine mammal in the territory.
Traditionally, the ringed seal (which gets its name from the irregular, light-colored rings with dark centres that characterize adults) was the main staple of the Inuit diet; its skin was used as clothing, its blubber fuelled the soapstone lamps that provided both light and warmth, and its intestines, a delicacy to Inuit, were even used as containers and igloo windows. The skin also furnished harnesses for huskies, and soles for kamiit (boots). While the animal is no longer used to this extent, the ringed seal is still an important food source for the people of Nunavut, who also use the skin for boots and mitts, and less frequently, parkas, pants, and even artwork.
The ringed seal's importance in Inuit culture is largely the result of logistics. In addition to being the only seal that spends the entire year in the Arctic, ringed seal populations also number well into the millions. In spring, seals haul themselves through cracks and breathing holes in the ice to bask in the warmth of the sun. Often you'll spot several of them sleeping together, though you may find it difficult to get very close to them. They are fitful sleepers, rising every few minutes to scan the horizon for potential danger.
You'll find ringed seals far more daring in their aquatic element, however, often popping their inquisitive heads out of the water to observe passing boats. Still, they are somewhat difficult to spot in ice-free waters. The ringed seal is ubiquitous in Nunavut, populating arctic and subarctic waters. A few venture as far south as the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Slightly larger than ringed seals, harp seals are distinguished by the black, harp-shaped saddle on their backs. Harp seals have never been as vital to Inuit as ringed seals, probably because they stay farther from shore. About 500,000 of them summer in Nunavut, migrating north when the sea ice finally yields in spring. They return south to warmer waters with the coming of autumn.
Inuit call harp seals kairulik, "jumping seals," a name derived from their penchant for porpoising and frolicking in arctic waters. They are found mostly in the eastern part of the territory, ranging throughout Foxe Basin, northern and eastern Hudson Bay, Hudson and Davis straits, and the northern parts of Baffin Bay.
The udjuk, or "squareflipper," as the bearded seal is sometimes called, is unique among Nunavut's seals in that it is a bottom feeder, eating crustaceans, mollusks, worms, hermit crab, and clams. Despite the energy the animal expends to attain its food, the bearded seal nonetheless grows to great proportions, maxing out at 350 kilograms.
Unlike more gregarious harp and ringed seals, bearded seals are usually found in pairs or small groups instead of large herds. These dark grey creatures spend most of their time on fields of drifting ice, diving 50 to 200 metres for food below. As their English name suggests, bearded seals are distinguished by the long, drooping whiskers around their mouths.
Despite their great girth, bearded seals are the most cautious of all Nunavut's seals. On the ice, they will head for safer pastures underwater long before humans get very close. In the water they are slightly braver. Often they'll allow your boat to get within several dozen metres; especially brazen individuals may even circle your vessel for a closer look before disappearing with a splash.
Bearded seals can be found throughout Nunavut, especially in shallow waters.
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nunavut.com
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