Igloolik Island is a small island in the

Qikiqtaaluk Region The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ ) or Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut name f ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

, Canada. It is located in the

Foxe Basin Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by sea ice (fast ice) and drift ice made up of multiple ice floes. Th ...

, very close to the

Melville Peninsula Melville Peninsula is a large peninsula in the Canadian Arctic north of Hudson Bay. To the east is Foxe Basin and to the west the Gulf of Boothia. To the north the Fury and Hecla Strait separates it from Baffin Island. To the south Repulse Bay ...

(and to a lesser degree,

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

), and it is often thought to be a part of the peninsula. It forms part of the

Arctic Archipelago The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark). Situated in the northern extremity of No ...

. The word ''Igloolik'' (

Inuktitut Inuktitut (; , syllabics ; from , "person" + , "like", "in the manner of"), also Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the tree line, including parts of the provinces o ...

: "there is an

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only b ...

here") comes from ''iglu'' (meaning: "house"/"building") and refers to the sod houses (

qarmaq Qarmaq (plural: "qarmat") is an Inuktitut term for a type of inter-seasonal, single-room family dwelling used by Inuit. To the Central Inuit of Northern Canada, it refers to a hybrid of a tent and igloo, or tent and sod house. Depending on the ...

) that were originally in the area.

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 ...

and their ancestors have inhabited the island since 2000 BC. The archaeological sites on the island, which show a sequence up to 1000 AD, were designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1978. There is only one community on the island, also named

Igloolik Igloolik ( Inuktitut syllabics: , ''Iglulik'', ) is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be on th ...

Qikiqtaarjuk

On the north of Igloolik Island at is a peninsula called Qikiqtaarjuk (

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics ( iu, ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ, qaniujaaqpait, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik and Nunatsiavut regions of Quebec and Labra ...

: ''ᕿᑭᖅᑖᕐᔪᒃ'', English: ''little island''). About 400 – 500 years ago Qikiqtaarjuk was a separate island but due to

isostatic rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

it became part of the main island. ''

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit ( /inuit qaujimajatuqaŋit/, Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᑐᖃᖏᑦ; sometimes Inuit Qaujimanituqangit - ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᑐᖃᖏᑦ) is an Inuktitut phrase that is often translated as ...

'' (traditional knowledge) says that prior to that there was an even smaller island called ''Puqtuniq'' from which the waters receded forming Qikiqtaarjuk. Qikiqtaarjuk is associated with several Inuit legends and stories and was the place from where Atanarjuat starts his run.

Climate

Igloolik has a

polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month in a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...

( ET) with nine months averaging below . Winters are long and cold, with October being the snowiest month. Summers range from chilly to sometimes mild, with cold nights.

References

{{NHSC National Historic Sites in Nunavut Islands of Foxe Basin Inhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region

Qikiqtaarjuk

Climate

See also

References