Baffin Island ((iu)Qikiqtaaluk / ᕿ ᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ) | |
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Glacier on the northeast coast of the island | |
Information | |
Country | ![]() |
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Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
Regional capital | Iqaluit |
Area | 507 451 km² |
Population | 10 745 hab. (2006) |
Density | 0,02 inhab./km² |
Telephone prefix | 1 |
Spindle | UTC − 04: 00 |
Location | |
![]() 69 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ N 72 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ W | |
THE'Baffin Island or the Baffin Land is the largest island in Canada. It is located in the east ofcanadian arctic archipelago in the North of the country.
Understand
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Iceberg_at_Baffin_Bay.jpg/220px-Iceberg_at_Baffin_Bay.jpg)
Baffin Island is the largest island in Canada and the fifth in the world. It is also larger than theSpain. It is named in honor of the navigator and explorer William Baffin. However, she is also known as Qikiqtaaluk in inuktitut, the main language of the Inuit. She is also known as Helluland; which means "land of flat stone" in Old Norse.
The island is bordered to the south by Hudson Strait, to the east by Davis Strait and the Baffin Sea, to the west and north by Foxe Basin, Gulf of Boothia and Strait of Lancaster. Hudson Strait separates it from Quebec while the Davis Strait separates it from Greenland. To the west is the rest of thecanadian arctic archipelago. Baffin Bay and Davis Strait are navigable during the summer season.
The Arctic Cordillera forms a mountain range in the west of the island, the highest peak of which is at 2 591 m altitude. The island includes several glaciers. Foxe Basin is covered by sea ice year-round and includes the oldest ice in Canada aged 20,000 years.
Baffin Island has a population of less than 11,000 inhabitants. It nevertheless comprises nearly half of the total population of Nunavut. 95% of the island's population is made up of Inuit. The island is part of the region of Qikiqtaaluk.
Story
Baffin Island has been inhabited for millennia by the Inuit. Traces of occupation have been found dating back to around 2,400 BC. AD to Cape Dorset in the southwest of the island. The island was discovered by the Europeans in 1576 by the navigator English Martin Frobisher.
Cities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Iqaluit-aerial.jpg/220px-Iqaluit-aerial.jpg)
- 1 Arctic bay (Ikpiarjuk (ᐃᒃᐱᐊᕐᔪᒃ))
- 2 Clyde River (Kanngiqtugaapik (ᑲᖏᖅᑐᒑᐱᒃ))
- 3 Kimmirut (ᑭᒻᒥᕈᑦ)
- 4 Iqaluit (ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ) – The largest city on the island and the capital of Nunavut.
- 5 Pangnirtung (Pangniqtuuq (ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ)) – The second most populous city on the island.
- 6 Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik (ᒥᑦᑎᒪᑕᓕᒃ)) – The third most populous city on the island.
Other destinations
- 1 Auyuittuq National Park – The oldest national park located beyond the Arctic Circle.
To go
AirportIqaluit is the gateway to the island for the vast majority of visitors.