Hudson Bay

History

See also: Company of Hudson Bay, Treated of Utrecht (1713)

This bay bears the name of the English explorer Henry Hudson which, in 1610, was taken there in the ices with its boat. Hudson Bay is historically indissociable Franco-English fight for the North America with 18th and 18th centuries. Indeed, it gave access to the vast territories of draft of the furs in which each country wanted to obtain exclusiveness. The French, established in the valley of the St. Lawrence (News-France), have several times sent of forwardings to dislodge the stations of draft which the English had set up there under the aegis of the Compagnie of Hudson Bay. The English made in the same way with the French stations. The whole was regulated only after the confirmation of the property of this territory to the Great Britain in 1713 by the Traités of Utrecht.

Physical geography

Hudson Bay makes nearly 1000 km broad and 700 km of north to the south but its basin are not very deep: its average depth is of 125 m but it is lower than 80 m up to 100 km of the coast. The bottom is generally not very broken with only some depressions and of the not very deep benches. The reason is that it was formed at the time of the last Glaciation by planing of the Canadian Bouclier Précambrien by the Glacier S.

By observing the chart of bay well, one can notice that the south-eastern part of Hudson Bay to the form of a half-circle. Although no proof it étaie, a advanced assumption is that this form would be that of the one of largest the craters of meteoritic impact of the world with a diameter of at least 300 km.

The surge of water of the Arctic islands in the north of bay and fresh water coming from many rivers whose Churchill and Nelson, maintain in bay a level higher than the mean level of the seas. Its water thus flows towards the Atlantic Ocean by narrow the Détroit of Hudson. Because of this tightening, and exceptional size of bay, the mass of water can make some several times the turn before leaving.

The englacement begins in October and persists until June although openings are formed in the ice, even with coldest of the winter, under the action of the wind. Contrast between this water exposed to the free air whose temperature is of approximately -2°C and the ambient air much colder generates downstream from the openings, of the important but very localized snowfalls.

After the cast iron of the ices, a limited sea traffic settles. In addition to the Kayak S Inuit S, Boat S Amerindian S, Outboard motor boat S and Coaster S in all kinds, ships of the Canadian coastal Garde open channels in the ice and supply the coastal villages. Some ships of high-sea also make stopover with Churchill (Manitoba) for the transport of corn coming from the Prairies.

Fauna

the most abundant fish species are the Omble knight, the Capelan, the saïda frankly, the ogac, the chubs and the lompénies. Nearly 20.000 Beluga S spend the summer along the west coast of bay. The groups of the estuary of the Nelson river are probably most important in the world.

Close to the town of Churchill, the polar bears spend the summer season to hibernate contrary to the other bears, and to put low at their small. Moreover the dump is a place of appointment to the autumn at the time of the return towards bay, while waiting for that the ice is enough solid to support them. They thus try to find a little food after 6 months of fast before being able to drive out their favorite prey: the seal. This causes problems of relations human-bear.

the battures and the marshes of Hudson Bay are attended by some of the most important populations in the world of birds of shore. Y nest in particular the very famous barnacles of Canada which one calls Outarde in Quebec and one of the most important populations in the world of peregrine falcons nicheurs.

Flora

The bordering grounds of bay covering 324,000 km ² are relatively punts and acid glazes of marshes. Hudson Bay is located in general at the north of the limit of the trees. The vegetation in the south is of type muskeg (Fondrière of foam), a mixture of Tourbe with some trees here and there. The Crees Indians name besides it Wiinipekw, muddy Eau , the same name as for the Lac Winnipeg. While going towards the north of bay one meets the Toundra and the Pergélisol because mercury is there the major part of the year well below the freezing point.

Literature

Hudson Bay and the history of the Company of Hudson Bay are magnificiently described in a novel of Jules Verne, the Country of the furs , published in 1871.

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