Akpatok Island is one of the uninhabited Canadian Arctic islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal 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, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is the largest island in Ungava Bay

Ungava Bay

Ungava Bay is a large bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about and has an area of approximately...

 on the northern coast of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. The island is named for the Akpat, the Thick-billed Murre

Brünnich's Guillemot

The Thick-billed Murre or Brünnich's Guillemot is a bird in the auk family . This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich...

 (Uria lomvia), which live on ledges along the limestone cliffs surrounding the island.

Geography

With an area of 903 km² (348.7 sq mi), Akpatok Island is predominantly limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, ringed with steep cliffs that rise 150 metre above sea level

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

. The cliffs are broken in many places by deep ravine

Ravine

A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...

s allowing access to the flat plateau 23 km (14.3 mi) wide and 45 km (28 mi) long.

Fauna

Akpatok Island has International Biological Program

International Biological Program

The International Biological Program was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies...

 status. It is a Canadian Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 (#NU007), as well as a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site

Key Habitat Site

A Key Habitat Site is a Canadian Wildlife Service designation for an area that supports at least 1% of the country's population of any migratory bird species, or subspecies, at any time. There may be overlap with areas designated as a migratory bird sanctuary or national wildlife area.-External...

 (NU Site 50). In addition to the Thick-billed Murre, notable bird species include Black Guillemot

Black Guillemot

The Black Guillemot or Tystie is a medium-sized alcid.Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill, and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large...

 and Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

.

Polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

, seal

Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

, and walrus

Walrus

The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...

 frequent the area.

History

At the southern end of the island there are remains of a Dorset settlement. The island is known for its widespread cannibalism

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

which ended around 1900 as the inhabitants moved to the mainland. Skulls and human remains have been reported on the island, but the accuracy of these reports can be called into question as there is an abundance of mystery and legend surrounding the details of the island. In July 1971 an exploratory oil well was drilled on the island, yet all that remains are a few dilapidated shelters and rusted equipment.

External links

• Photo, 2001 at oceandots.com