The
Baffin Mountains are a
mountain rangeA mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
running along the northeastern coast of
Baffin IslandBaffin 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...
and
Bylot IslandBylot Island lies off the northern end of Baffin Island in Nunavut Territory, Canada. At it is ranked 71st largest island in the world and Canada's 17th largest island. It is also one of the largest uninhabited islands in the world. While there are no permanent settlements on this Canadian Arctic...
,
NunavutNunavut 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...
are part of the
Arctic 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...
. The ice-capped mountains are some of the highest peaks of eastern
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, reaching a height of 1525–2146 m (5,003.3–7,040.7 ) above
sea levelMean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. While they could be considered a single mountain range as they are separated by bodies of water to make Baffin Island, this is not true, as they are closely related to the other mountain ranges that make the much larger Arctic Cordillera mountain range.
Terrain
The highest point is
Mount OdinMount Odin is a mountain in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Auyuittuq National Park along the Akshayuk Pass, north of Pangnirtung and south of Mount Asgard. Mount Odin is the highest mountain on Baffin Island....
at 2147 m (7,044 ft) while
Mount AsgardMount 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...
at 2015 m (6,611 ft) is perhaps the most famous. The highest point in the northern Baffin Mountains is
Qiajivik MountainQiajivik Mountain is a mountain in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. Located in northeastern Baffin Island, it is part of the Baffin Mountains. Qiajivik is the highest mountain in northern Baffin Island....
at 1963 m (6,440 ft). There are no
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s in the Baffin Mountains because the mountains are north of the
ArcticThe 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...
tree line. Rocks that comprise the Baffin Mountains are primarily deeply dissected
graniticGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
rocks. It was covered with ice until about 1500 years ago, and vast parts of it are still ice covered.
GeologicallyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, the Baffin Mountains form the eastern edge of the
Canadian ShieldThe Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
, which covers much of
CanadaCanada 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...
's landscape.
Highest Peaks of the Baffin Mountains
| Rank | Name | m | ft |
| 1 |
Mount OdinMount Odin is a mountain in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Auyuittuq National Park along the Akshayuk Pass, north of Pangnirtung and south of Mount Asgard. Mount Odin is the highest mountain on Baffin Island....
|
2147 |
7044 |
| 2 |
Mount AsgardMount 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...
|
2015 |
6611 |
| 3 |
Qiajivik Mountain Qiajivik Mountain is a mountain in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. Located in northeastern Baffin Island, it is part of the Baffin Mountains. Qiajivik is the highest mountain in northern Baffin Island....
|
1963 |
6440 |
| 4 |
Angilaaq Mountain Angilaaq Mountain is a mountain in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located north of Pond Inlet. It is the highest mountain on Bylot Island and lies in the Byam Martin Mountains, which is a northern extension of the Baffin Mountains....
|
1951 |
6401 |
| 5 |
Kisimngiuqtuq Peak Kisimngiuqtuq Peak is a mountain in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is associated with the Baffin Mountains on Baffin Island. It is the tenth highest peak in Nunavut and the eleventh highest peak in Nunavut by topographic prominence....
|
1905 |
6250 |
| 6 |
Ukpik Peak Ukpik Peak is a mountain associated with the Baffin Mountains on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is the thirteenth highest peak in Nunavut and the eighth highest peak in Nunavut by topographic prominence....
|
1809 |
5935 |
| 7 |
Bastille Peak Bastille Peak is a mountain located north of Pangnirtung, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is associated with the Baffin Mountains which in tirn form part of the Arctic Cordillera mountain system....
|
1733 |
5686 |
| 8 |
Mount Thule Mount Thule is a mountain on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is located north of Pond Inlet on Baffin Island. It is associated with the Baffin Mountains which in turn form part of the Arctic Cordillera mountain system.-References:...
|
1711 |
5614 |
| 9 |
Angna Mountain Angna Mountain is a mountain located on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is associated with the Baffin Mountains which in turn form part of the Arctic Cordillera mountain system....
|
1710 |
5610 |
| 10 |
Mount ThorMount 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...
|
1675 |
5495 |
Glaciation
The ranges of the Baffin Mountains are separated by deep
fjordGeologically, 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 and glaciated valleys with many spectacular glacial and ice capped mountains. The snowfall in the Baffin Mountains is light, much less than in places like the
Saint Elias MountainsThe Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range spans Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in the USA and Kluane...
in southeastern
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and southwestern
YukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
which are plastered with snow.
The largest
ice capAn ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area . Masses of ice covering more than 50 000 km² are termed an ice sheet....
in the Baffin Mountains is the
Penny Ice CapThe Penny Ice Cap is a vast, ice cap in Auyuittuq National Park of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It forms a high barrier on the Cumberland Peninsula, an area of deep fiords and glaciated valleys. It is a remnant of the last ice age. During the mid 1990s, Canadian researchers studied the...
, which has an area of 6000 km² (2,316.6 sq mi). During the mid 1990s, Canadian researchers studied the glacier's patterns of freezing and thawing over centuries by drilling ice core samples.
Flora and fauna
The dominant vegetation in the Baffin Mountains is a discontinuous cover of
mossMosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es,
lichenLichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s and cold-hardy
vascular plantVascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
s such as
sedgeCyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
and cottongrass.
History
One of the first mountaineering expeditions in the Baffin Mountains was in 1934 by J.M Wordie, in which two peaks called Pioneer Peak and Longstaff Tower were climbed.
The
Auyuittuq National ParkAuyuittuq 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 fjords, glaciers, and ice fields...
was established in 1976. It features many of Arctic wilderness, such as fjords,
glacierA 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 fieldAn 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
InuktitutInuktitut 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 people,
InuitThe 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 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.
There were Inuit settlements in the Baffin Mountains before European contact. The first European contact is believed to have been by
NorseNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
explorers in the 11th century, but the first recorded sighting of Baffin Island was
Martin FrobisherSir Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage...
during his search for the
Northwest PassageThe Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
in 1576.