Richmond Gulf

Richmond Gulf (French: "Lac Guillaume Delisle"; Inuktitut: "Tasiujaq (which resembles a lake)") is a large inland bay located on east side of Hudson Bay just above 56th parallel.

The many rivers flowing into Richmond Gulf make its water brackish but a healthy habitat for brook trout and whitefish, beluga and sealcite web | url = http://www.nvumiujaq.ca/en/index_eng.htm | title = Nunavik Village of Umiujaq] . The western shore is guarded by the steep ramparts of sedimentary rock that rise abruptly out of these brackish waters. There is only one narrow breach in these fortifications at the extreme southwest end, called "Le Goulet". A large volume of water surges through it with the rise and fall of the tides. This passage does not freeze even in winter. The eastern shore rises more gradually and is largely Canadian Shield rock, overlain in many places by basalt. Several large rivers enter Richmond Gulf in boisterous rapids or sheer falls [cite book | first = Herb | last = Pohl | title = The Lure of Faraway Places | year = 2007 | pages = 85 | isbn = 978-1-897045-24-4] (e.g. Clearwater River).

The topography of the Richmond Gulf is the consequence of two geological faults running parallel to the coast. The resulting dislocation has given rise to the cliffs that dominate the western shore of the Gulfcite book | first = Herb | last = Pohl | title = The Lure of Faraway Places | year = 2007 | pages = 135 | isbn = 978-1-897045-24-4] . Many species of birds, such as common loons, eider ducks and peregrine falcons, find summer shelter and nest here. There are few scattered black spruce and larch in the surrounding tundra. On the south shore, there are the remnants of an abandoned Hudson's Bay Company trading post.

Point Pamiallualuk is a narrow spur of rock that juts out some 2 km into Hudson Bay, just north of Le Goulet. Here, the north-flowing tidal current of Hudson Bay collides with weaker counter-current to produce a lot of agitation, which is further enhanced by the strong wind.

In 2008, regional councellors asked the Commission de toponymie du Quebec to rename Richmond Gulf officially as Lac Tasiujaq. [cite journal | journal = Che-Mun magazine | issue = 133 | first = Michael | last = Peake | pages = 3 | authorlink = Michael Peake | date = June 2008 | title = Canoesworthy]

References