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Southampton Island

 
Dictionary: Southampton Island
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An island of central Nunavut, Canada, at the entrance to Hudson Bay.

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Southampton Island
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Island, Keewatin region, Nunavut, Canada. Lying at the entrance to Hudson Bay, the island is roughly triangular and has an area of 15,913 sq mi (41,214 sq km). Its plateau in the northeast, with 1,000-ft (300-m) coastal cliffs, gradually slopes to lowlands in the south. Its coastal waters are noted for Arctic char fishing.

For more information on Southampton Island, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Southampton Island
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Southampton Island, c.15,700 sq mi (40,700 sq km), Nunavut Territory, Canada, at the entrance to Hudson Bay. It is separated from the mainland by Ross Welcome Sound and Frozen Strait. With lowlands in the west, the tundra-covered island rises to c.2,000 ft (610 m) in the east. Coral Harbour, a trading post and airfield, is at the head of South Bay.

Wikipedia: Southampton Island
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Southampton
SouthamptonIslandCloseup.png
Southampton Island within Nunavut
Geography
Southampton Island.png
Location Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin
Coordinates 64°30′N 084°30′W / 64.5°N 84.5°W / 64.5; -84.5 (Southampton Island)Coordinates: 64°30′N 084°30′W / 64.5°N 84.5°W / 64.5; -84.5 (Southampton Island)
Archipelago Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Area 41,214 km2 (15,913 sq mi) (34th)
Highest point Mathiasen Mountain (625 m (2,050 ft))
Country
Canada
Nunavut  Nunavut
Region Kivalliq
Largest city Coral Harbour (pop. 712)
Demographics
Population 712 (as of Canada 2001 Census)
Ethnic groups Inuit

Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as 41,214 km2 (15,913 sq mi) by Statistics Canada [1]. It is the 34th largest island in the world and Canada's ninth largest island. The only settlement on Southampton Island is Coral Harbour (pop. 712, Canada 2001 Census), called in Inuit Salliq.

Southampton Island is one of the few Canadian areas, and the only area in Nunavut, that does not use daylight saving time.

Contents

History

Historically speaking, Southampton Island is famous for its now-extinct inhabitants, the Sadlermiut (modern Inuktitut Sallirmiut "Inhabitants of Salliq"), who were the last vestige of the Tuniit. The Tuniit, a pre-Inuit culture, officially went ethnically and culturally extinct in 1902-03[1] when a Western illness killed all of the Sallirmiut in a matter of weeks.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the island was repopulated by Aivilingmiut from Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet, influenced to do so by whaler Capt. George Comer and others. Baffin Islanders arrived 25 years later. John Ell, who as a young child travelled with his mother Shoofly on Comer's schooners, eventually became the most famous of Southampton Island's re-settled population.[2]

The Native Point archaeological site at the mouth of Native Bay is the largest Sadlermiut site on the island.[3]

Geography

It is separated from the Melville Peninsula by Frozen Strait.[4] Other waterways surrounding the island include Roes Welcome Sound to the west, Bay of Gods Mercy in the southwest, Fisher Strait in the south, Evans Strait in the southeast, and Foxe Channel in the east.

Hansine Lake is located in the far north. Bell Peninsula is located in the southeastern part of the island.[5] Mathiasen Mountain, a member of the Porsild Mountains, is the island's highest peak.

Fauna

East Bay Migratory Bird Sanctuary and Harry Gibbons Migratory Bird Sanctuary are located on the island and are important breeding sites for the Lesser Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens caerulescens). East Bay/Native Bay is an Important Bird Area.[6]

Gallery

Capt. Capt. George Comer's 1913 map of Southampton.

Satellite photo montage of Southampton Island

References

  1. ^ Briggs, Jean L.; J. Garth Taylor. "The Canadian Encyclopedia: Sadlermiut Inuit". Historica Foundation of Canada. http://www.encyclopediecanadienne.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007041. Retrieved 2008-03-21. 
  2. ^ Rowley, Graham. Cold comfort : my love affair with the Arctic. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 38. ISBN 0773513930. http://books.google.com/books?id=2k_ZPx76uPQC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=%22duke+of+york+bay%22+inuit&source=web&ots=fCfD3iRa_D&sig=5ZCzRLLwsr6sAwDQEPd51_oEfbo&hl=en#PPA38,M1. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
  3. ^ "History". edu.nu.ca. http://mailhub.edu.nu.ca/kivalliq/orientation/CoralHarbour.html. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 
  4. ^ "Frozen Strait". The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000. http://www.bartleby.com/69/68/F03568.html. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 
  5. ^ "Mathiasen Mountain Nunavut". Bivouac.com. http://www.bivouac.com/MtnPg.asp?MtnId=3186. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  6. ^ "East Bay/Native Bay". bsc-eoc.org. http://www.bsc-eoc.org/iba/site.jsp?siteID=NU023. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 

Further reading

  • Bird, J. Brian. Southampton Island. Ottawa: E. Cloutier, 1953.
  • Brack, D. M. Southampton Island Area Economic Survey With Notes on Repulse Bay and Wager Bay. Ottawa: Area & Community Planning Section, Industrial Division, Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1962.
  • Mathiassen, Therkel. Contributions to the Physiography of Southampton Island. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel, 1931.
  • Parker, G. R. An Investigation of Caribou Range on Southampton Island, Northwest Territories. Ottawa: Information Canada, 1975.
  • Pickavance, J. R. 2006. "The Spiders of East Bay, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada". Arctic. 59, no. 3: 276-282.
  • Popham RE. 1953. "A Comparative Analysis of the Digital Patterns of Eskimo from Southampton Island". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 11, no. 2: 203-13.
  • Popham RE, and WD Bell. 1951. "Eskimo crania from Southampton Island". Revue Canadienne De Biologie / ̐ưedit̐ưee Par L'Universit̐ưe De Montr̐ưeal. 10, no. 5: 435-42.
  • Sutton, George Miksch, and John Bonner Semple. The Exploration of Southampton Island. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1932.
  • Sutton, George Miksch. The Birds of Southampton Island. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1932.
  • VanStone, James W. The Economy and Population Shifts of the Eskimos of Southampton Island. Ottawa: Northern Co-ordination and Research Centre, Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1959.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Southampton Island".  Read more