Island of Baffin

The island of Baffin sometimes named Baffin Island ( Qikiqtaaluk in inuit or Helluland “ground of the stone punt” in Old norrois) is one of the island of the Canadian Arctic Archipel, in the territory of the Nunavut. It is the largest island of Canada and the 5 {{E}} of the world, with a surface of 507.451 km ².

History

The island of Baffin has been probably inhabited for several millenia by the populations Inuit. The oldest traces of occupation go up around 2 400 av. J. - C. and were found in Cape Dorset, in the south-west of the island.

From the European point of view, the island of Baffin was discovered in 1576 by the navigator English Martin Frobisher though already reported by the Viking S like the Helluland of the saga of Leif Erikson as of 986. Towards 1615 - 1616, the pilot William Baffin explored southern bank of the island during the forwarding which sought one supposed passage leading to the North-West starting from the strait of Hudson. At the 19th century, the Arctic explorer William Edward Parry will name the island in his homage.

Geography

The island of Baffin is separated from the Quebec in the south by the strait of Hudson. It is bordered in the west by the Détroit of Davis and the Baffin bay which separate it from the Greenland. In the west and north, the Basin of Foxe, the Gulf of Boothia and the Détroit of Lancaster separate the island from Baffin from the remainder from the Arctic Archipel.

The Arctic Cordillera composes the east coast of the island, a succession of mountains of the alpine type culminating to 2.591 m with Penny Ice Cape, and goes down slowly towards the west to form a sedimentary Bassin. In the south, the peninsula of Hall is a zone slightly broken. In the North-West, the peninsulas of Borden and Embroiderer form two plates traversed by river valleys. The peninsula of Foxe, in south-west, is strongly broken. To the mid-west of the island, a large plain constellated with lakes and rivers extend between north and the south, altitude rising gradually between the basin of Foxe in the west and the assembly line in the east. The coasts of the island - especially in the east - are dug of a multitude of Fjord S.

The island of Baffin is partially covered by a certain number of Glacier S. Baffin bay and the strait of Davis is navigable in summer, but the basin of Foxe remains generally covered by the Banquise all the year.

Demography

The island of Baffin, in spite of its size and because of its rigorous climate, only counts a little more than 11.000 inhabitants (either one of the lowest Population density of world, approximately 0,02 habitant/km ², but about half of the total population of Nunavut). Iqaluit (in the past Frobisher Bay), the capital of the Nunavut, is located on the southern part of the island. 85% of the population are inuit.

The island counts few permanent villages, all located on one of the coasts:

Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay) - 5.236 inhabitants
Pangnirtung (Pannirtuuq) - 1.276 inhabitants
Lays Inlet (Mittimatalik) - 1.220 inhabitants
Kingait (Dorset Cape) - 1.100 inhabitants
Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River) - 785 inhabitants
Ipiarjuk (Arctic Bay) - 646 inhabitants
Qikiqtarjuaq (Broughton Island) - 488 inhabitants
Kimmirut (Lake Harbor) - 433 inhabitants
Nanisivik - 200 inhabitants

Economy

With the XIX {{E}} and XX {{E}} centuries, the island was used primarily for the fishing industry to the whale. At the present time, the main activities of the island of Baffin are mining, the Tourisme and the fishing.

The island of Baffin counts several national parks, like the Auyuittuq national park, created in 1972 on the east coast, oldest establishes beyond the Polar circle Arctic.

See too

Inuits Netsilik

Zh-min-nan: Baffin Tó

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