- Back River
Infobox River
river_name = Back River
caption =
origin =Muskox Lake, NWT
mouth =
basin_countries =Canada
length = 715 mi/1,150 km long
elevation =
mouth_elevation =
discharge =Chantrey Inlet
watershed = Cockburn BayBack River ("Thlewechodyeth", "Haningayok", [cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-NhBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=%22Prince+Albert+Sound%22&source=web&ots=P6Beu2wRa-&sig=3aBgqcaIUflYJwZp4-8ySVYkKTY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result |pages=50 |title=The Stefánsson-Anderson Arctic Expedition of the American Museum: Preliminary Ethnological Report |last=Stefansson |first=Vilhjalmur |year=1914 |publisher=The Trustees of the American Museum |location=New York |oclc=13626409] or Great Fish River), is a river that rises in the
Northwest Territories at the outflow ofMuskox Lake , enters the relatively small Sussex Lake (coord|64|26|01|N|108|21|03|W|type:airport|display=inline) which straddles NWT andNunavut , and continues flowing through the Kitikmeot Region for 1,150kilometre s (715mile s) with a very tortuous course northeast, passing the Heywood Range, following theThelon Wildlife Sanctuary 's northern boundary, passing through several large lake-expansions (Beechey Lake ,Pelly Lake ,Garry Lake ,Buliard Lake ,MacDougall Lake andFranklin Lake ), as well as McKay Peak, before entering Cockburn Bay onChantrey Inlet , (coord|67|16|00|N|095|14|59|W|type:river|display=inline) on theArctic Ocean . The entire river is above the tree line. [cite web |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic38-1-72.pdf |title=James Anderson |publisher=ucalgary.ca |accessdate=2008-01-23]The Back River is the historic homeland of the "
Hanningajurmiut " (or "Haningayogmiut")Copper Inuit , also referred to as the "Ualininmiut " by theirCaribou Inuit northern neighbors, the "Utkusiksalinmiut ". [cite web |url=http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000299&sl=6814&pos=1 |title=Inuit Heritage Centre |publisher=virtualmuseum |accessdate=2008-01-22]Like the Coppermine, Hood, Dubawant or Kazan, which are other large rivers in this part of Canada, it is navigable only by experienced canoeists because of the numerous and challenging 83
rapid s.Its first known exploration by
Europe ans was byGeorge Back in 1834 and again by James Anderson - a Chief Factor with theHudson's Bay Company in 1856. After a hiatus of slightly over 100 years, it was again descended in 1962 by two groups. One a British group of four young men and the other a group of four young Americans. The British group was led byRobert Cundy who wrote a book about their descent called Beacon Six and the Americans were led byAustin Hoyt . The Americans started at the source of the River, Sussex Lake, with two Cedar Canvascanoe s and reached the coast before the British team. Robert Cundy's group started lower down on Beechey Lake and were overtaken by the Americans. The British were paddling three foldupkayak s, one of which was destroyed on the expedition. Both groups filmed the trip and the British film - Beacon Six was shown on TV by theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation .The area around the river is full of
wildlife , with manyfish in the river, and caribou,muskox en, wolves in the area, with occasional sightings ofBrown Bear ,wolverine s andArctic Hare s. As the river nears the Arctic Ocean,polar bear s are also found, and bear repellent spray is recommended as a protection against all bears. However while thefauna are abundant, there are no trees in the area, all vegetation being low-lying and not good for cooking fuel.Like other areas in
Northern Canada , Back River is subject to very cold weather and a persistent Arctic wind that gusts up togale force wind, requiring hardy equipment for humans in the area.Modern canoeing on the river
The Back River constitutes a long and difficult voyage, taking over a month of hard work by strong and experienced Arctic (duo) canoeists. The Back is considered much more challenging than the Kazan River. Many rapids end in dense "rock gardens" rendering portaging often mandatory. Such portages must be conducted on bare rocks and occasionally unstable boulders. The need for portage is generally lower after a set of rapids known as the "Escape Rapids", thereafter very many rapids (but not all) can be run, as the river becomes less rocky and risky. Water level permiting, two further areas of runable rapids are notable: Sandhill rapids generally navigated on the left bank, Wolf rapids on the right.
The source of the river can be reached by floatplane from
Yellowknife , N.W.T. At the end of the trip, abush plane can be called in from Baker Lake in Nunavut for a landing in a prearranged spot in the tundra. If planning a canoeing trip on the river, due to the weather, it is generally recommended to have navigatedGarry Lake byAugust 8 , the mark of the seasonal change to worse weather. It needs to be noted that being windbound can happen at anytime. Due to the proximity to theArctic Circle and the associated cold, any capsizing can easily conclude inhypothermia anddeath . Aspraydeck -equipped canoe is strongly recommended both for lakes and rapids.References
ee also
*
List of Nunavut rivers
*Back River volcanic complex External links
* [http://encarta.msn.com/map_701510416/Back_(river).html Map]
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