![ApexChurch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/ApexChurch.jpg)
Apex (
Inuktitut ''Niaqunngut'') is a small community in
Iqaluit
Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the Frobisher Bay, large bay on the c ...
located on
Baffin Island in
Nunavut, Canada. It is about southeast of Iqaluit on a small peninsula separating Koojesse (Kuujussi) Inlet from Tarr Inlet. Historically Apex was the place where most
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
lived when
Iqaluit was a military site and off-limits to anyone not working at the base. The community is accessed by bridge or causeway, and bordered by a local creek (kuujuusi) and waterfall (kugluktuk). Located here are the women's shelter, a church,
Nanook Elementary School, and a bed-and-breakfast, along with housing for about 60 families.
Officially and functionally part of the City of Iqaluit, some Apex residents tend to reject affiliation with "Frobisher Bay". At the 2006 Nunavut Electoral Boundaries Commission hearings, and in the resulting final report, community members asked for territorial representation with the south Baffin community of
Kimmirut
Kimmirut ( Syllabics: ᑭᒻᒥᕈᑦ ; known as Lake Harbour until 1 January 1996) is a community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the shore of Hudson Strait on Baffin Island's Meta Incognita Peninsula. Kimmirut means ...
, rather than continue with parts of the existing Iqaluit ridings. The Deputy-Mayor of Iqaluit has the additional portfolio of representing and responding to interests from the Apex citizenry.
History
The community got its start in 1949 when the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
moved its south Baffin operations from
Ward Inlet Ward Inlet () is a body of water in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region. It lies in eastern Frobisher Bay, forming a wedge into Baffin Island, separating Becher Peninsula from Hall Peninsula. Augustus Island lies deep into the inlet.
Ward inlet was th ...
to the Apex Beach location to take advantage of the increased activity near the new US Air Force Base and landing strip. In the 1950s the community contained a number of administrative buildings for the
Department of Northern Health and Welfare, as well as Inuit housing units, a public laundry and bath house and the original nursing station for the Baffin region. This latter facility acted as a marshalling and drop-off point for treatment in tuberculosis hospitals. A monument to Inuit who went south as tuberculosis patients, and did not return, was commissioned by Pairijait Tigumivik, (the Iqaluit Elders' Society) and is located in front of the nursing station on the bank of the creek. Small holes in the monument act as a 'prayer wall' designed to permit the insertion of messages for departed relatives.
The Inuit housing units which grew up in Apex were either in the single room "match-box" style with a pinched waist (1960s), or the 512 (named for the square footage of this housing model). The original Apex families, (including the Michael, Alainga, Peter, Joamie, Onalik and Timotee families) built these houses from standard packages supplied by government. There was also a small cannery for
Arctic char
The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populat ...
, promoted by the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...
. The cannery encouraged fishing at levels which led to the demise of the Iqaluit
Sylvia Grinnell River fish stocks, which are only now (~2008) showing signs of a recovery to levels which would substantiate the name "Iqaluit" for this region.
During the times of
Commissioner of the Northwest Territories,
Stu Hodgson, and his successor
John H. Parker, residents of Apex were advised that the community was inefficient and no longer required. Plans were made for it to be "shut down" by government. A number of the Inuit housing units were moved to the airpost site at Frobisher Bay, including some which were relocated while their owners were away hunting. Government functions and employment gradually moved into the more "convenient" areas around the
airport site, and the population of Apex declined. Municipal by-laws restricted new housing to existing residents until 1989, when construction was again permitted. The City of Iqaluit continues to prefer not to increase housing in Apex as it is serviced by more expensive "trucked water and sewer" systems.
Apex Hill has been used both as an alternate community name and as a geographic location for the hill on the east (seaward) side of the community which served as the apex (high point) for marine navigators entering Koojesse Inlet on the annual
sealift
Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such a ...
and resupply.
St. Simon's Anglican Church, which was built in the sixties of the last century, was the first Anglican church in the area.
Climate
Apex, like Iqaluit, has a
tundra climate
The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''ET'') typical of the Arctic region, although it is well outside the
Arctic Circle. The area features long, cold winters and brief, cool summers. Average monthly temperatures are below freezing for eight months of the year.
Iqaluit averages just over of precipitation annually, much wetter than many other localities in the
Arctic Archipelago, with the summer being the wettest season. Temperatures of the winter months are comparable to other northern communities further west on the continent such as
Yellowknife
Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...
and to some extent even
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...
, even though Apex is a few degrees colder than the latter. Summer temperatures are, however, much colder due to its easterly maritime position affected by the waters of the cold
Baffin Island Current. This means that the
tree line
The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...
is much further south in the eastern part of Canada, being as southbound, in spite of low elevation, as northern
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
.
Although it is north of the natural tree line, there are some short, south-facing imported
black spruce (''Picea mariana'') specimens protected by
snowdrift
A snowdrift is a deposit of snow sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm. Snowdrifts resemble sand dunes and are formed in a similar manner, namely, by wind moving light snow and depositing it when the wind has virtually stopped, us ...
s in the winter,
in addition to a few
shrubs, which are
woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...
s. These include the
Arctic willow
''Salix arctica'', the Arctic willow, is a tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae). It is adapted to survive in Arctic conditions, specifically tundras.
Description
''S. arctica'' is typically a low shrub growing to only in height, rarely to ...
(''Salix arctica''), which is hard to recognize as a tree because of its low height. The Arctic willow may be up to around horizontally, but only tall.
The climate of Apex is also colder than
Gulf Stream locations on the same latitude. For example, the Norwegian city of
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
has an annual mean temperature that is milder.
The lowest temperature ever recorded was at the airport on 10 February 1967.
The highest temperature ever recorded at the airport was on 21 July 2008.
References
External links
{{Subdivisions of Nunavut
Hudson's Bay Company trading posts in Nunavut
Populated places in the Qikiqtaaluk Region
Iqaluit
Populated places established in 1949
1949 establishments in Canada