Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park (known as ''Iqaluit Kuunga'' in the

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 ...

language) is a Canadian territorial park on

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 ...

in the province of

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'' ...

Location and access

The park is located 1 km away from Iqaluit, the capital of

territory, to the west. From the centre of Iqaluit it is an easy 30-minute walk. There are cabs available in Iqaluit as well.

Area

The park covers 148 hectares.

History

In 1861, American explorer Charles Francis Hall became the first non-indigenous person to journey to the area, when he reached the place with Inuit help. He became the first non-indigenous person to realise that Frobisher Bay was a bay and not a North-West passage route to China as was believed. He went on to name many places in the area after his financial backers. The Sylvia Grinnell river was named after the daughter of his friend and benefactor

Henry Grinnell Henry Grinnell (February 18, 1799 – June 30, 1874) was an American merchant and philanthropist. Early life Grinnell was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on February 18, 1799. He was the son of Cornelius Grinnell (1758–1850) and Sylvia (né ...

. The river lends its name to the park. Iqaluit in Inuktitut means 'place of many fish' a reference to the

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 populatio ...

which thrives in the river. The Inuktitut for the park is Iqaluit Kuunga which means Iqaluit river. The park's landscape was formed by ice age glaciation 7100 years ago.

Sights

The Sylvia Grinnell river flows through the park. A viewing platform 55 metres above the falls offers an impressive view. The park also has archaeological sites of the Dorset culture and the

Thule people The Thule (, , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people ...

. Stone cairns and Thule ruins can be seen in the park.

Fauna and Flora

The

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

is the most important animal seen in the park. Arctic fox, Arctic hare and

Polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

are also seen in the park. The park is also home to around 40 avian species in the summer and spring seasons. They include Gyrfalcon, Common ringed plover,

American golden plover The American golden plover (''Pluvialis dominica''), is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from ''pluvia'', "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name ''d ...

, Horned lark,

Rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

, Snow bunting, Semipalmated sandpiper,

Red-throated loon The red-throated loon (North America) or red-throated diver (Britain and Ireland) (''Gavia stellata'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds prim ...

, Lapland longspur, Northern wheatear and

Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

. Commercial fishery for Arctic Char in the river was banned in 1965. Presently, a permit is required to fish in the river for non-Inuit. One of the most common plants in the park is purple mountain saxifrage, the official flower of Nunavut.

Tourism

There are various hiking routes varying in difficulty and length with trail markers through the park. Sylvia Grinnell River is a popular spot for fishing but for tourists a license is nessary. Camping in the park is possible, and near the riverbank there are plateaus providing shelter for campers.

Gallery

File:EingangParkSilviaGrinnellIqaluitFotoAndreKaiser.png, Entrance to the park File:SylviaGrinnellPark2.jpg, Purple mountain saxifrage in the park File:SylviaGrinnellPark1 (2).jpg, Sylvia Grinnell River File:Sylvia Grinnel National Park.jpg, Sylvia Grinnell River

References

External links

{{Authority control Ellesmere Island Parks in Qikiqtaaluk Region Territorial parks of Nunavut