Broughton Island is a island in the Arctic Archipelago.

Geography

It is located above the Arctic Circle in the

Davis Strait Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John ...

, off Baffin Island about west of the

Cumberland Peninsula Cumberland Peninsula is a peninsula in the southeastern part of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is located between 64°56' and 67°57' north latitude, and 61°56' to 68° west longitude. The Arctic Circle crosses the peninsula, with the Labr ...

. To the east Baffin Bay, and the

Baffin Mountains The Baffin Mountains are a mountain range running along the northeastern coast of Baffin Island and Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. The ice-capped mountains are part of the Arctic Cordillera and have some of the highest peaks of eastern North Ameri ...

are located to the west, more specifically the Arctic Cordillera mountain range.

Demographics

The only community on the island is

Qikiqtarjuaq Qikiqtarjuaq (; formerly known as Broughton Island until November 1998 ,) is a community located on Broughton Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The island is known for Arctic wildlife (ring seals, polar bears, bowhead whales, ...

with a population of 593. It is one of only eleven islands, out of more than 36,000, in the Arctic Archipelago that are inhabited. The

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 ...

residents of Qikiqtarjuaq moved there in 1963 from a

whaling station Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry a ...

at Kivitoo about north. Qikiqtarjuaq hosts an annual "Suicide Prevention Walk". Local participants would walk a total distance of across the tundra from Kivitoo' Today the walk is much shorter than the original two and a half days, but it is still meant to promote hope among the community. The island was the home of FOX-5, a Distant Early Warning Line and now a North Warning System site. There is also an access road that was built to Tisunaaq, also known as Ceetee Land to the Elders, and another road is in construction to Qikiqtarjuaqruluk, or Old Broughton, an abandoned settlement.

Wildlife

The island is known for

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

wildlife including ring seals, polar bears, bowhead whales, narwhals, and bird watching. The

Qaqulluit National Wildlife Area Qaqulluit (Inuktitut syllabics: ''ᖃᖁᓪᓗᐃᑦ'' formerly Qaqaluit Island (meaning: "northern fulmar") is one of eastern Baffin Island's small, offshore, uninhabited islands, located in the Arctic Archipelago in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunav ...

is located about south east at . It serves as the northern access point for

Auyuittuq National Park Auyuittuq National Park ( iu, ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ, , "the land that never melts") is a national park located on Baffin Island's Cumberland Peninsula, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, the largest political subdivision of Canada. The park was ...

(see also

Pangnirtung Pangnirtung (or Pang, also Pangniqtuuq, in syllabics: ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ ) is an Inuit hamlet, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. Pangnirtung is situated on a coastal plain at the coast of P ...

) and is approximately 2 hours by boat in the summer months, 2 - 2.5 hours by vehicle or snowmobile in winter months. All park visitors must register and book an orientation session prior to entry into the park, and non-Inuit who visit Auyuittuq must do so by hiring a local licensed operator.

Gallery

Climate

Broughton Island 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 ...

( ET), with the warmest month averaging below . Summers tend to be cool with chilly nights, while winters are long and cold. Early winter is the snowiest time of the year, with more than half of all year snowfall on average falling during this period.

References

{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region Islands of Baffin Island Islands of Davis Strait Inhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region