The Thomsen River, located in the Northwest Territories of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, is the northernmost usable river of the country. It is famous for

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

ing.

Course

It flows across

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 Wa ...

in the

Canadian 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 ...

, and flows northward through

Aulavik National Park Aulavik National Park ( ); from the Inuvialuktun for "place where people travel") is a National Parks of Canada, national park located on Banks Island in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is known for its access to the Thomsen River, one of ...

before it empties through the Castel Bay into the

M'Clure Strait The M'Clure Strait (sometimes rendered McClure Strait) is a strait on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories. It forms the northwestern end of the Parry Channel which extends east all the way to Baffin Bay and is thus a possible route for ...

(part of the

Viscount Melville Sound Viscount Melville Sound is an arm of the Arctic Ocean in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut and the Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. Forming part of the Parry Channel, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Qu ...

of 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 ...

Fishing

The Thomsen River on northern Banks Island has been described as the most northerly multi-species river in North America. At least three fish species,

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

(''Salvelinus namaycush''),

least cisco ''Coregonus sardinella'', known as the least cisco or the sardine cisco, is a fresh- and brackishwater salmonid fish that inhabits rivers, estuaries and coastal waters of the marginal seas of the Arctic Basin, as well as some large lakes of tho ...

(''Coregonus sardinella''), and

ninespine stickleback The ninespine stickleback (''Pungitius pungitius''), also called the ten-spined stickleback, is a freshwater species of fish in the family Gasterosteidae that inhabits temperate waters. It is widely but locally distributed throughout Eurasia and ...

(''Pungitius pungitius''), reach their known northern limit of distribution in the Thomsen River while 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 populat ...

(''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a common species.

Lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

(''Coregonus clupeaformis'') may also occur in upper reaches of the Thomsen and marine

fourhorn sculpin The fourhorn sculpin (''Myoxocephalus quadricornis'') is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It is a demersal fish distributed mainly in brackish arctic coastal waters in Canada, Greenland, Russia, and Alaska, and also as a relict in the bo ...

(''Myoxocephalus quadricornis'') are occasionally found in the lower reaches of the river. Approximately one half of the Thomsen River watershed lies within Aulavik National Park.

References

{{authority control Rivers of the Northwest Territories Banks Island

Course

Fishing

See also

References