- Thelon River
The Thelon River stretches convert|900|km|mi|lk=on across northern
Canada . Its source isWhitefish Lake in theNorthwest Territories , and it flows east to Baker Lake inNunavut . The Thelon ultimately drains intoHudson Bay .Natural features
The drainage basin of the Thelon River encompasses some convert|142400|km2|sqmi|lk=on. Located far from almost all human development, the Thelon and its surroundings are entirely pristine wilderness.
The river has a width of up to a kilometer (0.6 mi) along much of its lower section, widening into Beverly, Aberdeen, and Schultz Lakes about convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on upstream from its mouth at Baker Lake.
Approximately 100
moose and more than 2,000muskox en forage on the land around the Thelon. 300,000 migrating barren-ground caribou cross the river every fall and spring.Exploration
The
Inuit people, includingCaribou Inuit , have long occupied the sparsely-populated lands around the Thelon. Artifacts of Inuit hunting and travel (includinginukshuk guide stones) are readily observed near the river.In 1770-71, English explorer
Samuel Hearne crossed the Thelon while exploring Canada's northern interior.Over the winter of 1926-27, Canadian naturalist
John Hornby starved to death on the Thelon along with two other men. They had planned to hunt migrating caribou, but failed to find the herd. Nevertheless, on the basis of Hornby's earlier explorations withJames Critchell-Bullock in 1923, the Thelon Game Sanctuary was established in 1927, renamed theThelon Wildlife Sanctuary in 1956.In 1927(?), the Norwegian explorer and writer
Helge Ingstad went bydog sled to the headwaters of Thelon (Lynx Lake) together with native peoples from east end ofGreat Slave Lake . Read more in his book "The Land of Feast and Famine".In 1990, the lower convert|545|km|mi|abbr=on of the Thelon were designated a Canadian Heritage River. Although there is no road access to the river, a number of wilderness campers and canoeists visit the Thelon every summer.
External links
* [http://www.chrs.ca/Rivers/Thelon/Thelon_e.htm The Thelon River] from the Canadian Heritage Rivers System
* [http://www.chrs.ca/Rivers/Thelon/Thelon-M_e.htm Map of the Thelon River]
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