Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the

Inuvik Region The Inuvik Region or ''Beaufort Delta Region'' is one of five administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. According to Municipal and Community Affairs the region consists of eight communities with the regional office situate ...

, and the third largest community in Canada's

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as its administrative and service centre and is home to federal, territorial, and Indigenous government offices, along with the regional hospital and airport. Inuvik is located on the northern edge of the

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

, just before it begins to transition to

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

, and along the east side of the enormous Mackenzie River delta. The town lies on the border between the Gwich'in Settlement Region and the

Inuvialuit Settlement Region The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR ( ikt, Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq – INS; french: Région désignée des Inuvialuit – RDI), located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement ...

History

Inuvik was conceived in 1953 as a replacement administrative centre for the hamlet of

Aklavik Aklavik (Inuvialuktun: ''Akłarvik'') (from the Inuvialuktun meaning '' barrenground grizzly place'') is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Until 1961, with a population over 1,500, the community served ...

on the west of the Mackenzie Delta, as the latter was prone to flooding and had no room for expansion. Initially called "New Aklavik", it was renamed Inuvik in 1958. The school was built in 1959 and the hospital, government offices and staff residences in 1960, when people, including

Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska Alask ...

Gwichʼin The Gwichʼin (or Kutchin) are an Athabaskan-speaking First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native people. They live in the northwestern part of North America, mostly above the Arctic Circle. Gwichʼin are well-known for their crafting ...

(

Dene The Dene people () are an Aboriginal peoples in Canada, indigenous group of First Nations in Canada, First Nations who inhabit the northern Boreal forest of Canada, boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languag ...

) and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

, began to live in the community. Naval Radio Station (NRS) Inuvik, later CFS Inuvik, callsign CFV, was commissioned on 10 September 1963 after operations had been successfully transferred from NRS Aklavik. Station CFV was part of the SUPRAD (Supplementary Radio) network of intercept and direction finding stations. CFS Inuvik closed on 1 April 1986 and the site was transferred to the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

for use as a telecommunications station. Nothing remains of CFS Inuvik today. The Navy Operations base at the end of Navy Road was completely dismantled and removed. Inuvik achieved village status in 1967 and became a full town in 1979 with an elected mayor and council. In 1979, with the completion of the

Dempster Highway The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses ...

, Inuvik became connected to Canada's highway system, and simultaneously the most northerly town to which one could drive in Canada. While a winter only

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Inte ...

through the Mackenzie River delta still connects Inuvik to

, southwest of Inuvik, the

Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road, an extension of the Dempster Highway, was an ice road on frozen Mackenzie River River delta, delta channels and the frozen Arctic Ocean between the Northwest Territories communities of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, in Canada. ...

, which ran northeast to

Tuktoyaktuk Tuktoyaktuk , or ''Tuktuyaaqtuuq'' (Inuvialuktun: ''it looks like a caribou''), is an Inuvialuit hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway.Montgomery, ...

, is no longer being built due to the opening in November 2017, of the

Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway The Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH), officially Northwest Territories Highway 10, is an all-weather road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is the first all-weather road to Canada's Arctic Coast. The idea fo ...

(ITH), which is open all year round. The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway, which connects to Canada's highway system at Inuvik via the Dempster Highway, is the first road in history to reach the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

in North America. Between 1971 and 1990, the town's economy was supported by the local

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

Station, CFS Inuvik, (originally a Naval Radio Station, later a communications research/signals intercept facility) and by

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

companies exploring the Mackenzie Valley and the

Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea (; french: Mer de Beaufort, Iñupiaq: ''Taġiuq'') is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, and west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after Sir Fr ...

for petroleum. This all collapsed in 1990 for a variety of reasons, including disappearing government military subsidies, local resistance to petroleum exploration, and low international oil prices. Since then the economy has been based on some minor tourism and subsidy provided by the

Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada Crown''–''Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC; french: Relations Couronne-Autochtones et des Affaires du Nord Canada)''Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Iden ...

(INAC),

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...

(for the regional hospital) and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Inuvik had a population of 3,137 living in 1,223 of its 1,464 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,243. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As of the 2021 Canadian census there were 1,990 people who identified as

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

. Of these 63.6 per cent were

(

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 ...

, predominantly

Uummarmiut The Uummarmiut or Uummaġmiut (, ''people of the green trees'') is the name given to the Inuvialuit who live predominantly in the Mackenzie Delta communities of Aklavik and Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Their language is known as Uummarmi ...

), 26.1 per cent

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

, 5.8 per cent

and 4.8 per cent reported other Indigenous heritage. The non-Indigenous population of Inuvik was 36.6 per cent. The main language spoken in Inuvik is English, though schools teach and a handful of local people still speak

Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (; natively meaning ''like the real human beings/peoples''), is an indigenous Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe th ...

(

Inuvialuktun Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit/Inuktitut/Inuktut/Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some dialects and sub-dialec ...

), and

. Local

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

CHAK (AM) CHAK is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 860 AM broadcasting, AM in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The station broadcasts the programming of the CBC Radio One network known as CBC North. History CHAK was launched in 1947 as a local comm ...

, broadcasts an hour of programming a day in each of these languages. Local

are enrolled in the

Inuvik Native Band The Inuvik Native Band is a Gwich'in First Nations band government in the Northwest Territories. The band is located in Inuvik, a mixed community where First Nations, Inuit, and non-Indigenous people live in approximately equal numbers. The Inuv ...

. There are also about 100 Muslims, most of whom came there for economic opportunities. A small mosque (dubbed "Little mosque on the tundra" in reference to the CBC show ''

Little Mosque on the Prairie ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures, originally broadcast from 2007 to 2012 on CBC Television, CBC. Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and Indian ...

'') was established in 2010.

Geography

Inuvik is located on the East Channel of the Mackenzie Delta, approximately from the Arctic Ocean and approximately north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. 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 snowp ...

lies north of Inuvik, and the town is surrounded by

. Due to its northern location, Inuvik experiences an average of 56 days of

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, t ...

every summer and 30 days of

polar night The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midnig ...

every winter.

Transportation

Road

Until November 2017, Inuvik was the most northern community in Canada to be accessible by road (now second to

). The

links Inuvik to the rest of Canada, providing relatively easy access to a wide variety of goods, and greatly reducing their cost. In contrast, many Arctic communities depend on cargo flights for regular goods and summer

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 as ...

s for larger freight, making goods expensive and often slow to arrive. In 2017, the

was extended north from Inuvik another to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic coast. Inuvik is also connected to

by an

across the Mackenzie Delta from late December until late April each year. The Dempster Highway relies on ferries to cross the Peel River near

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

and the Mackenzie River at

Tsiigehtchic Tsiigehtchic ( ; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the ''Charter Community of Tsiigehtchic'', is a Gwich'in community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...

during the summer months. In winter, ice bridges are constructed to cross the rivers. During the spring the crossings close throughout May as the ice on the rivers breaks up. Similarly, they are impassible for most of November while the rivers freeze. During these times air travel is the only way for people and goods to reach Inuvik.

Air

The

Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport is located east of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can ...

is serviced by several regional carriers.

Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Nunavik region o ...

has regular direct flights to

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

Norman Wells Norman Wells ( Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada, settled about 140 km (87 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional o ...

. It further connects to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, and a number of smaller communities in the Northwest Territories and

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'' ...

Air North Air North Charter and Training Ltd., operating as , is a Canadian airline based in Whitehorse, Yukon. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo flights throughout Yukon, as well as between Yukon and the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, ...

connects to points in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and travels as far south as

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Aklak Air Aklak Air is an Inuvialuit owned airline based in Inuvik in Northwest Territories in Canada. It operates year-round and seasonal scheduled services, as well as charter flights throughout the western Arctic. Its main base is Inuvik (Mike Zubko ...

flies north to the small communities of

Sachs Harbour Sachs Harbour (, ) is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Situated on the southwestern coast of Banks Island in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, the population according to the 2021 census count was 103 ...

Paulatuk Paulatuk is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located adjacent to Darnley Bay, in the Amundsen Gulf. The town was named for the coal that was found in the area in the 1920s, and the Siglitun spelli ...

, and

Ulukhaktok Ulukhaktok (Kangiryuarmiutun (Inuit language) spelling ''Ulukhaqtuuq'' () and known until 1 April 2006 as ''Holman'' or ''Holman Island'') is a small hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...

. Freight services, helicopters, and

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

charters are also available from Inuvik. Floatplane service operates out of the nearby

Inuvik/Shell Lake Water Aerodrome Inuvik/Shell Lake Water Aerodrome is located south-southeast of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada and is open from June until September. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border ...

Water

When the Mackenzie River is ice-free,

Marine Transportation Services Marine Transportation Services (MTS) formerly Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) is a marine transportation company operating primarily in the Mackenzie River watershed of the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta, and the Arct ...

provides a commercial barge service from

Hay River Hay River may refer to: Places * Hay River, Northwest Territories * Hay River, Wisconsin Rivers * Hay River (Wisconsin) * Hay River (Canada), a river in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada * Hay River, Northern Territory, Australia * Hay R ...

, on

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...

to the regional terminal in Inuvik. The annual

moves supplies east into the

Kitikmeot Region Kitikmeot Region (; Inuktitut: ''Qitirmiut'' ) is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together ...

and west to

Utqiagvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the ...

. Many locals own small boats with

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

s which are used to access family hunting and fishing camps or to visit

. Boat traffic comes to a halt in the winter when the Mackenzie River freezes.

Climate

Inuvik has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(

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 ...

''Dfc''). Summers are typically wetter and cool, with temperatures varying wildly throughout the months due to its peculiar location near the cold

. The average hottest month of the year, July, has a mean high of and mean low of . Unlike many other North American continental climates, Inuvik warms up very quickly during the months of May and June due to the rapidly increasing day length, and that remaining snow cools down until May. June is a warmer month than August. Seasonal transitions are extremely short, with mean daily temperatures rising or falling as fast as per day. Winters are long and cold; the coldest month of the year, January, having a mean high of and a mean low of . Freezing temperatures can occur any month of the year. Inuvik has a great variation of temperatures during the year, usually peaking below in the winter and above in the summer. The highest temperature ever recorded in Inuvik was on 17 June 1999 and 20 July 2001. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 4 February 1968. Snow that falls from October onward usually stays until the spring thaw in mid-May. By March, the median snow depth has reached its greatest, about .

Tourism

Famous attractions

Inuvik's Our Lady of Victory Church, often called ''Igloo Church'', is a famous landmark in the region. It is the most-photographed building in the town . Inuvik has the Midnight Sun Mosque, North America's northernmost, which opened in November 2010 after being built in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and moved by truck and barge. Some media reports have mistakenly called the mosque "the world's northernmost mosque", but in fact mosques in

Norilsk Norilsk ( rus, Нори́льск, p=nɐˈrʲilʲsk, ''Norílʹsk'') is a closed city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of the western Taymyr Peninsula, around 90 km east of the Yenisey River and 1,500 km north of Krasnoyarsk. Norilsk i ...

, Russia, and

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

, Norway, are both slightly further north than Inuvik.

Annual events of note

The Inuvik community greenhouse converted from an old hockey rink

The

Great Northern Arts Festival The Great Northern Arts Festival is held each year in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Lasting approximately ten days, it is an annual event held each summer. It was established in 1989 by Charlene Alexander and Sue Rose. While the festival's mandat ...

has been held annually for 10 days in the middle of July since 1989. The Festival has hosted over 3,000 artists from across Canada's north, and from as far away as Japan and Australia over 31 years and is the largest annual tourism event in the Beaufort Delta. Featuring on-site demonstrations, 50+ arts workshops, a 3,500-piece gallery, an outdoor carving village, an interactive artist studio zone, nightly cultural performances, northern film screenings, family activities and an

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, 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 (Greenla ...

fashion show, the Festival attracts visitors from around the world to travel the Dempster Highway to visit Inuvik and the Gwich'in and

s. The annual Sunrise Festival happens on the second weekend of the new year, when the sun finally breaks the horizon after about thirty days of

. The Festival is an all-day community event highlighted by

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...

races, a long-program fireworks show and community bonfire. This Festival was highlighted in the award-winning 2010 national Tropicana Orange Juice commercial ''Arctic Sun''. Inuvik celebrates the Muskrat Jamboree each year in late March or early April. Started in 1957, the event brings together thousands of people to participate in traditional games, watch the dog sled and snowmobile races and dance (jig) the night away in town. Most events are held on the Mackenzie River where several community groups operate concessions in stove-heated traditional McPherson tents, preparing hot soup,

bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

, baked goods, coffee,

Labrador tea Labrador tea is a common name for three closely related plant species in the genus ''Rhododendron'' as well as an herbal tea made from their leaves. All three species are primarily wetland plants in the heath family. The herbal tea has been a ...

, hot chocolate and other traditional refreshments. Many participants and spectators wear traditional clothing and often local artisans will have something to sell. In conjunction with the Muskrat Jamboree, the Town of Inuvik hosts the annual Muskrat Cup 3-on-3 Pond Hockey Tournament on the frozen Mackenzie River, the world's most northerly cash tournament. The weekend closest to the summer solstice (21 June) each year features the Midnight Sun Fun Run, a 5K, 10K and

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

that starts at midnight under the 24-hours of sunlight experienced for over 50 days each summer in Inuvik. Runners from around the world make their way north to participate in this unique event under the midnight sun.

Facilities

A new hospital opened in early 2003, providing service to an area extending from

Banks Island Banks Island is one of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago. Situated in the Inuvik Region, and part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, of the Northwest Territories, it is separated from Victoria Island to its east by the Prince of ...

, to

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

, and from

into the

Sahtu Region The Sahtu Region is an administrative region in Canada's Northwest Territories. Coterminous with the settlement region described in the 1993 Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, of the Sahtu is collectively owned by its Indi ...

including

Tulita Tulita, which in Slavey means "where the rivers or waters meet," is a hamlet in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was formerly known as ''Fort Norman'', until 1 January 1996. It is located at the junction of the Great Bear ...

Délı̨nę The Charter Community of Délı̨nę (North Slavey: ) is located in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, on the western shore of Great Bear Lake and is northwest of Yellowknife. Délı̨nę means "where the waters flow", a refe ...

Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine''), is a charter community in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on a peninsula between Jackf ...

, and Colville Lake. The Midnight Sun Complex, a stage-built multi-use facility, was completed in 2006. Featuring the Roy 'Sugloo' Ipana Memorial Arena, with an NHL-sized ice surface; the Inuvik Curling Club with three sheets and a well-situated licensed lounge/viewing area; the Inuvik Pool, an award-winning Class B recreational pool with lane swimming, waterpark features including a two-story waterslide, hot tub, sauna and steam room; two squash courts; a multi-use community hall with stage; on-site business centre/production office; full building wireless; video-conferencing facility; on-site catering/kitchen; and meeting rooms for groups of 5 to 500. At full-building use, the Complex can host conferences, conventions and trade shows with up to 1200 delegates/exhibitors. The community has a state-of-the-art school called East 3. The construction budget for the school exceeded $110 million, and it features modern technologies such as 'smartboards' and videoconferencing facilities as well as a large gym. A distinct feature of Inuvik is the use of "

utilidors In The Walt Disney Company, Disney theme parks, the utilidor system is a system of some of the world's largest utility tunnels, mainly for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Florida. The utilidors, short for utility corridors, are a part of Di ...

" – above-ground utility conduits carrying water and sewage – which are covered by corrugated steel. They run throughout town connecting most buildings, and as a result there are many small bridges and underpasses. The utilidors are necessary because of the

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

underlying the town.

Media

Print

The town is served by the ''Inuvik Drum'', a community newspaper published weekly by

Northern News Services NNSL Media (Northern News Services LTD) is a news and media company based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. It is one of the few remaining independent newspaper companies in Canada, producing all-original content with little to no reliance ...

Television

Inuvik was previously served by

CHAK-TV CHAK-TV was a small CBC Television/CBC North owned-and-operated station for the Northwest Territories community of Inuvik. The station was registered on May 16, 1968 to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to operate on channel 6, with an effect ...

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

channel 6, a

CBC North CBC North ( iu, ᓰᐲᓰ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ, lit=CBC Northwest, translit=, SiiPiiSii Ukiuqtaqtumi; cr, ᓰᐲᓰ ᒌᐌᑎᓅᑖᐦᒡ, label=cr, SiiPiiSii Chiiwetinuutaahch; french: Radio-Canada Nord) is the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

repeater of

CFYK-DT CFYK-DT (channel 8) is a CBC Television station in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. It is the flagship station of the CBC North television service. History The station signed on in 1967 as the first television station in northern ...

(

); that station closed down on 31 July 2012 due to budget cuts affecting the CBC.

Radio

Communications

Landline telephone service is provided by

Northwestel Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Originally est ...

, and cellular service by Ice Wireless and Arctic Digital (

Bell Mobility Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE (telecommunication), LTE and Evolved HSPA, HSPA+ on i ...

). Cable television is also offered in Inuvik by New North Networks.

Fibre optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

communications were added in Inuvik in June 2017 with the completion of the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link; the $82 million line adds new capability to the town. However, the dependence on this single trunk line occasionally causes widespread Internet outages during Dempster or Alaska Highway maintenance or construction. A backup trunk line between

Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...

and Inuvik is currently under construction.

Planetary nomenclature

In 1988, the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) officially adopted the name

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as its administrative and service cen ...

for a crater on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, at 78.7° north latitude and 28.6° west longitude. The crater's diameter is .

Notable people

Leona Aglukkaq Leona Aglukkaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓕᐅᓇ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ; born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping d ...

, former member of Parliament for the electoral district of

and former Minister of Health * Roger Allen, former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and Olympian *

Zac Boyer Zachary Jason Boyer (born October 25, 1971) is a Canadian former National Hockey League Winger (ice hockey), right winger. In the final game of the 1992 Memorial Cup, Boyer scored the championship-winning goal for the Kamloops Blazers with 14 ...

, former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

right winger * Tom Butters, former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories * Jason Elliott, former professional ice hockey player *

Fred Koe Fred Koe (born March 8, 1947) is a former territorial level politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest territories from 1991 to 1995. He was born in Aklavik. Koe is the son of Jim Koe, who was the chief of the Aklavik ...

, former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories *

Floyd Roland Floyd K. Roland (born November 23, 1961) is a politician from Northwest Territories, Canada. He was the 11th premier of the Northwest Territories, having held office from October 17, 2007 to October 26, 2011. Previously a town councillor and dep ...

, former Mayor of Inuvik and former Premier and member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories *

Richard Nerysoo Richard Nerysoo (born 1953) is a territorial level politician from the Northwest Territories, Canada. He was a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1979 to 1995 and served as the third premier of the Northwest Territories and Sp ...

, former chief of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, and former Premier of the Northwest Territories *

Eric Schweig Eric Schweig (born Ray Dean Thrasher; 19 June 1967) is an Indigenous Canadian actor best known for his role as Chingachgook's son Uncas in ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1992). Early life Schweig was born in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. He is ...

/ Chippewa /

actor

References

External links

Town of Inuvik Web Site
{{Authority control Inuit in the Northwest Territories Towns in the Northwest Territories