The Twin Islands are similarly shaped 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...

 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...

. They are located in central James Bay

James Bay

James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...

, 56 km (34.8 mi) north east of Akimiski Island

Akimiski Island

Akimiski Island is the largest island in James Bay , Canada, which is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the territory of Nunavut. It has an area of , making it the 163rd largest island in the world, and Canada's 29th largest island. Akimiski Island is only from the province of Ontario...

, and 58 km (36 mi) west 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 group includes North Twin

North Twin Island (Nunavut)

North Twin Island is an uninhabited Arctic island located east of Akimiski Island in James Bay on the southern end of Hudson Bay. The smaller, similarly-shaped, South Twin Island is located approximately 10 km southeast...

 and South Twin

South Twin Island (Nunavut)

South Twin Island is an uninhabited Arctic island located east of Akimiski Island toward the center of James Bay. The larger, similarly-shaped, North Twin Island is located approximately 10 km northwest. South Twin Island has more mossy tundra and fewer trees than North Twin Island...

 islands.

Geography

Approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) separate the two islands. North Twin Island, 157 km² (60.6 sq mi), 18.5 km (11.5 mi) by 11 km (6.8 mi), to the northwest, is the larger of the two. South Twin Island measures 12.8 km (8 mi) by 10.2 km (6.3 mi). Landscape characteristics include, unconsolidated sand, gravel, lakes, marshland, sand dunes, and wide tidal flats.

Notable landmarks include Cotter Point on North Twin, and Lucy Point on South Twin.

Flora

The habitat includes small stands of trees: 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:...

, juniper, White Spruce

White Spruce

Picea glauca is a species of spruce native to boreal forests in the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the...

, and willows, along with heaths and shrubs.

Conservation

The Twin Islands are 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...

 (#NU034), an 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...

 site (Site 6-2), and a Key Terrestrial Migratory Bird 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 56). The Twin Islands Wildlife Sanctuary

Twin Islands Wildlife Sanctuary

The Twin Islands Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Twin Islands, including North Twin Island and South Twin Island, within central James Bay....

 is part of the James Bay Preserve.

Avifauna

Notable bird species include: American Pipit

Buff-bellied Pipit

The Buff-bellied Pipit , or American Pipit as it is known in North America, is a small songbird found on both sides of the northern Pacific. It was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica...

, American Tree, Sparrow, Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...

, Canada Goose

Canada Goose

The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....

, Dunlin, Eastern White-crowned, Sparrow, Horned Lark

Shore Lark

The Shore Lark , called the Horned Lark in North America, is a species of bird in the genus Eremophila.- Description :...

, Landbird, Lapland Longspur

Lapland Bunting

The Lapland Longspur or Lapland Bunting, Calcarius lapponicus, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae ....

, Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird.This species has greenish legs and a short thin dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least Sandpipers are grey above...

, Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...

, Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....

, Savannah Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

The Savannah Sparrow is a small American sparrow. It is the only widely accepted member of the genus Passerculus...

, Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover

The Semipalmated Plover is a small plover.This species weighs and measures in length and across the wings. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband...

, Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

The Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla, is a very small shorebird. It is sometimes separated with other "stints" in Erolia but although these apparently form a monophyletic group, the present species' old genus Ereunetes had been proposed before Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short stout...

, Shorebird, Waterfowl, and Willow Ptarmigan

Willow Grouse

The Willow Ptarmigan , also known as the Willow Grouse, is a bird of the grouse subfamily. It is a sedentary species, breeding in birch and other forests and moorlands in the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, in particular the province of Newfoundland and Labrador...

.

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...

s frequent the area.