Auyuittuq National Park
Encyclopedia
Auyuittuq National Park is a national park
located on Baffin Island
's Cumberland Peninsula
, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut
, the largest political subdivision of Canada
. It features the many terrains of Arctic
wilderness, such as fjord
s, glacier
s, and ice field
s. In Inuktitut
- the language of Nunavut's aboriginal
people, Inuit
- Auyuittuq (current spelling: ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ aujuittuq) means "the land that never melts." Although Auyuittuq was established in 1976 as a national park reserve
, it was upgraded to a full national park in 2000.
Little vegetation can be found in Auyuittuq Park, although the plants found there range from flowers such as Mountain Avens, Campion
, Papaver
, and Saxifrage
to shrubs like Dwarf Birch
, Arctic Willow
, and heather
. Many of the plants in Auyuittuq Park grow in clumps to create their own warmer "microclimate
" to survive the harsh Arctic
conditions.
Because of the exceptionally low vegetation supply, wildlife
is very scarce. There are only 12 species of mammals that live in Auyuittuq Park including Lemming
s (both the North American Brown Lemming
and the Northern Collared Lemming
), Arctic Hare
, and Ermine
to Polar Bear
, Arctic Fox
, and some Barren-ground Caribou
.
The nearest towns are Qikiqtarjuaq
and Pangnirtung
. Visitors wishing to enter the park are required to register at the park office in Pangnirtung or Qikiqtarjuaq, and attend an orientation session. Park user fees apply.
The most common backpacking route in the park is known as Akshayuk Pass
, and follows the Weasel and Owl Rivers via Summit Lake. In 2008, heavy rain and warm weather caused Summit Lake to burst through its banks, flooding the Weasel River and washing away the Windy Lake bridge (see photo below). As a result, the hiking routes in the pass are limited to either side of the Weasel River.
Well known peaks include Mount Asgard
(shown in the James Bond
film The Spy Who Loved Me
) with an 800 meter (2625 foot) face, and Mount Thor
with a 1,250 meter (4,100 foot), 105° face.
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
located on Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
's Cumberland Peninsula
Cumberland Peninsula
Cumberland Peninsula is a peninsula in the southeastern part of Baffin Island, in Nunavut, Canada. It is located between 64°56' and 67°57' north latitude, and 61°56' to 68° west longitude. The Arctic Circle crosses the peninsula, with the Labrador Sea to the southeast, and the Davis Strait to the...
, Qikiqtaaluk Region in 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...
, the largest political subdivision of 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 features the many terrains of Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
wilderness, such as fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
s, glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s, and ice field
Ice field
An ice field is an area less than 50,000 km² of ice often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation. It is an extensive area of interconnected valley glaciers from which the higher peaks rise as nunataks...
s. In Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
- the language of Nunavut's aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
people, Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
- Auyuittuq (current spelling: ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ aujuittuq) means "the land that never melts." Although Auyuittuq was established in 1976 as a national park reserve
National Reserve
A National Reserve is a land designation for protecting conservation values:-National Reserves by country:*National reserves of Chile*National Reserves of New Zealand*National Reserves of the United States...
, it was upgraded to a full national park in 2000.
Little vegetation can be found in Auyuittuq Park, although the plants found there range from flowers such as Mountain Avens, Campion
Campion
Campion may refer to:-Biology:* Flowering plants of the Caryophyllaceae genera Lychnis and Silene, including:** Silene acaulis, or moss campion, a flower found in Eurasia and North America...
, Papaver
Papaver
Papaver is a genus of 70-100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae.-Description:...
, and Saxifrage
Saxifrage
Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 440 species of Holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages. The Latin word saxifraga means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin + ...
to shrubs like Dwarf Birch
Dwarf Birch
Betula nana is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.-Description:...
, Arctic Willow
Arctic Willow
Salix arctica is a tiny creeping willow . It is adapted to survive in harsh Arctic and subarctic environments, and has a circumpolar distribution round the Arctic Ocean.-Distribution:...
, and heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
. Many of the plants in Auyuittuq Park grow in clumps to create their own warmer "microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
" to survive the harsh Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
conditions.
Because of the exceptionally low vegetation supply, wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
is very scarce. There are only 12 species of mammals that live in Auyuittuq Park including Lemming
Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
s (both the North American Brown Lemming
North American Brown Lemming
The North American brown lemming, Lemmus trimucronatus, is a small North American lemming. Originally called the Siberian Brown Lemming Lemmus sibiricus it was later decided that they formed two distinct species....
and the Northern Collared Lemming
Northern Collared Lemming
The Northern Collared Lemming , sometimes called the Peary Land Collared Lemming in Canada, is a small North American lemming. At one time, it was considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic Lemming...
), Arctic Hare
Arctic Hare
The arctic hare , or polar rabbit is a species of hare which is adapted largely to polar and mountainous habitats. The arctic hare survives with a thick coat of fur and usually digs holes under the ground or snow to keep warm and sleep...
, and Ermine
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
to 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...
, Arctic Fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
, and some Barren-ground Caribou
Barren-ground Caribou
Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...
.
The nearest towns are Qikiqtarjuaq
Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut
-External links:* *...
and Pangnirtung
Pangnirtung, Nunavut
Pangnirtung is an Inuit hamlet, Qikiqtaaluk Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. As of the 2006 census the population was 1,325, an increase of 3.8% from the 2001 census...
. Visitors wishing to enter the park are required to register at the park office in Pangnirtung or Qikiqtarjuaq, and attend an orientation session. Park user fees apply.
The most common backpacking route in the park is known as Akshayuk Pass
Akshayuk Pass
Akshayuk Pass , formerly called Pangnirtung Pass, is a long mountain pass along a spectacular valley through the southern Baffin Mountains, Nunavut, Canada...
, and follows the Weasel and Owl Rivers via Summit Lake. In 2008, heavy rain and warm weather caused Summit Lake to burst through its banks, flooding the Weasel River and washing away the Windy Lake bridge (see photo below). As a result, the hiking routes in the pass are limited to either side of the Weasel River.
Well known peaks include Mount Asgard
Mount Asgard
Mount Asgard is a twin peaked mountain with two flat-topped cylindrical rock towers, separated by a saddle. It is located in Auyuittuq National Park, on the Cumberland Peninsula of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The peak is named after Asgard, the realm of the gods in Norse mythology...
(shown in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
) with an 800 meter (2625 foot) face, and Mount Thor
Mount Thor
Mount Thor, officially gazetted as Thor Peak, is a mountain with an elevation of 1,675 m located in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The mountain is located northeast of Pangnirtung and features the Earth's greatest purely vertical drop at , with an average angle of 105...
with a 1,250 meter (4,100 foot), 105° face.
See also
- National Parks of Canada
- List of National Parks of Canada
- List of Nunavut parks
- Arctic CordilleraArctic CordilleraThe Arctic Cordillera is a vast, deeply dissected chain of mountain ranges extending along the northeastern flank of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from Ellesmere Island to the northeasternmost part of the Labrador Peninsula in northern Labrador and northern Quebec, Canada...
External links
- Parks Canada official site
- Mount Thor Peak climbing info
- Information and pictures - from The Tulugak Hotel
- Auyuittuq National Park Information
- Newspaper article about Auyuittuq National Park by Dallas Morning News reporter Dave Levinthal