Geography of Nunavut

The Canadian territory of Nunavut covers about 1.9 million square kilometres of land and water including part of the mainland, most of the Arctic Islands, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay (including the Belcher Islands) which belonged to the Northwest Territories. This makes it the fourth largest subnational entity (statoid) in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 13th in area, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nunavut has land borders with the Northwest Territories on several islands as well as the mainland, and a tiny land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on Killiniq Island.

The creation of Nunavut created Canada's only "four corners", at the intersection of the boundaries of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, at 60°00' north, 102°00' west, on the southern shore of Kasba Lake. This is not the tourist spot it might be, as it is extremely remote and inaccessible, although there is a marker (albeit an out of date one) at the point, and some have made the trek. Nunavut's borders appear as though they were influenced by the shape of the Inukshuk, a symbol of Inuit heritage, but this is not the case. The border between Nunavut and the NWT reflect land claims agreements, while the provincial/territorial borders are those remaining from before division.

Physical geography

The mountains on the easternmost coasts of Nunavut are part of the Arctic Cordillera which stretches from northernmost Ellesmere Island to the northernmost tip of Labrador.The highest point is Barbeau Peak on Ellesmere Island at a height of 2616 metres (8583 ft) which is also the highest point in Nunavut. The Arctic Cordillera is the northernmost mountain range in Canada and offers some of the world's most spectacular scenery.

Geologically, Nunavut lies on the Canadian shield, with very thin soil lying on top of the bedrock, and many bare outcrops. This arrangement was caused by severe glaciation during the last ice age, which covered the Shield and scraped the rock clean. The extreme age of the base rock (Precambrian Era, over 540 million years old) is one the main factors for the rich veins of ores and minerals that have been found in the territory. The multitude of rivers and lakes in the entire region is caused by the watersheds of the area being so young and in a state of sorting themselves out with the added effect of post-glacial rebound. Virtually all of Nunavut's rivers drain into the Hudson Bay or the Arctic Ocean.

Arctic tundra (Koppen climate classification "ET") covers virtually all of Nunavut, the only exceptions being a tiny area in the extreme southwest near the "four corners" alluded to above, where a marginal taiga forest exists, and small zones of permanent ice caps, found on some of the larger Arctic Islands (especially Baffin, Devon and Ellesmere) at sites having a relatively high elevation. Nunavut's vegetation is partially composed of rare berries, lichens, Arctic Willows, moss, tough grass, and small willow shrubs.

Demographics

"See also List of communities in Nunavut, Regions of Nunavut"

As of 2005, Nunavut has a population of approximately 30,000, of whom around 85% are native peoples, primarily Inuit. Nunavut's small and sparse population makes it unlikely the territory will be granted provincial status in the foreseeable future, although this may change if the Yukon, which is only marginally more populous, becomes a province.

Canada Geography