The Ferguson River originates on the eastern bank of Ferguson Lake

Ferguson Lake (Kivalliq Region)

Ferguson Lake is a lake in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located north of the tree line, midway between Yathkyed Lake and Qamanirjuaq Lake. The lake's outflow is to the east into the Ferguson River, which flows eastward through several lakes, emptying into northwestern Hudson Bay between...

within the northern Hearne Domain, Western Churchill province of the Churchill craton

Churchill craton

The Churchill craton is the northwest section of the Canadian Shield and stretches from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta to northern Nunavut. It has a very complex geological history punctuated by at least seven distinct regional tectonometamorphic intervals, including many discrete accretionary...

, the northwest section of the Canadian Shield

Canadian Shield

The 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...

 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...

's Kivalliq Region.

The river was first traversed by Canadian Arctic explorer Joseph Burr Tyrrell's Geological Survey of Canada 1894 canoe expedition that included Robert Monro Ferguson, Scottish sportsman and aide-de-camp to Lord Aberdeen

John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair

John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , known as The Earl of Aberdeen from 1870 to 1916, was a Scottish politician...

, Governor General of Canada

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

. Ferguson became the namesake of the river and the lake.(Hodgins, 1994, pg. 109)

The river flows eastward through several lakes:

• Qamanirjuaq Lake
  Qamanirjuaq Lake
  Qamanirjuaq Lake is a lake in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is the first of several named lakes on the eastward flow of the Ferguson River through the eastern barrenlands...
  
   ("Kaminuriak")
• Victory Lake
• O'Neil Lake
• Kaminak Lake
  Kaminak Lake
  Kaminak Lake is a lake in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. The sub-Arctic lake is one of eleven lakes of the Ferguson River system which ultimately flows into the northwestern Hudson Bay...
  
  
• Quartzite Lake
• Snug Lake
• Munro Lake
• Helika Lake
• Last Lake

Before reaching its outflow, the river passes though narrows, the "The Canyon",
then empties into Nevill Bay

Nevill Bay

Nevill Bay is a long and narrow waterway in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in northwestern Hudson Bay between Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove, approximately south of Tavani.. The Ferguson River empties into the bay opposite Bibby Island....

opposite Bibby Island

Bibby Island

Bibby Island was named for Sir Bibby Lake, governor from 1712-1743. It is one of several uninhabited Canadian arctic islands in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada...

 in northwestern Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

 between Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove

Whale Cove, Nunavut

Whale Cove , is a hamlet located south of Rankin Inlet, north of Arviat, in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada, on the western shore of Hudson Bay....

.

Ferguson River flows through the migratory path of 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...

. Arctic char

Arctic char

Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...

r can be found in the river, while muskox, wolves, and 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...

 also inhabit the area.

History

The river was first explored in 1894 by Joseph Burr Tyrrell and his party, who received guidance about the local lakes and rivers from area 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...

. Tyrell named the river after one of his travelling companions.

Mapping