Difference between revisions of "Banks Island" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox Islands
 
{{Infobox Islands
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| name             = Banks
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| name = Banks
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| image name       = Canada2.A2002165.1940.250m.jpg
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| image name = Canada2.A2002165.1940.250m.jpg
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| image caption   = These Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Images from June 14 and 16, 2002, show Banks Island (upper left) and Victoria Island (to the southeast)
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| image caption = These Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Images from June 14 and 16, 2002, show Banks Island (upper left) and Victoria Island (to the southeast)
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| image size       =  
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| image size =
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| locator map     = Map indicating Banks Island, New Territories, Canada.png
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| locator map = Map indicating Banks Island, New Territories, Canada.png
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| map_custom      = no
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| native name =
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| native name     =  
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| native name link =
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| native name link =  
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| nickname =
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| nickname         =  
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| location = [[Beaufort Sea]]
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| location         = [[Beaufort Sea]]
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| coordinates = {{coord|73|00|N|121|30|W|display=inline,title|region:CA-NT_type:isle_scale:5000000|name=Banks Island}}
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| coordinates     = {{coord|73|00|N|121|30|W|display=inline}}
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| archipelago = [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]]
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| archipelago     = [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]]
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| total islands =
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| total islands   =  
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| major islands =
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| major islands   =  
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| area_km2 = 70028
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| area            = {{convert|70028|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
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| rank = 24th
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| rank             = 24th
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| length_km = 380
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| length          = {{convert|380|km|mi|abbr=on}}
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| width_km = 290
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| width            = {{convert|290|km|mi|abbr=on}}
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| highest mount = Durham Heights
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| highest mount   = Durham Heights
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| elevation_m = 730
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| elevation        = {{convert|730|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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| country = Canada
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| country         = Canada
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| country admin divisions title = Territory
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| country admin divisions title     = Territory
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| country admin divisions = {{flag|Northwest Territories}}
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| country admin divisions           = {{flag|Northwest Territories}}
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| country admin divisions title 1 =
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| country admin divisions title 1   =  
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| country admin divisions 1 =
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| country admin divisions 1         =  
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| country admin divisions title 2 =
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| country admin divisions title 2   =  
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| country admin divisions 2 =
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| country admin divisions 2         =  
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| country largest city = [[Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories|Sachs Harbour]]
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| country largest city             =  
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| country largest city population =
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| country largest city population   =  
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| population = 136
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| population       = 114
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| population as of = 2010
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| population as of = 2001
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| density = 0.0016
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| density         = .0016
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| ethnic groups =
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| ethnic groups   =  
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| additional info =
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| additional info =
 
 
}}
 
}}
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[[Image:BanksIslandCloseup.png|thumb|right|Closer look at Banks Island]]
 
[[Image:BanksIslandCloseup.png|thumb|right|Closer look at Banks Island]]
 
[[Image:Wfm banks island.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite photo montage of Banks Island]]
 
[[Image:Wfm banks island.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite photo montage of Banks Island]]
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One of the larger members of the [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]], '''Banks Island''' ({{coord|73|0|N|121|30|W|type:isle_region:CA}}) is situated in the [[Inuvik]] Region of the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Canada]]. It is separated from [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]] to its east by the [[Prince of Wales Strait]] and from the mainland by [[Amundsen Gulf]] to its south. The [[Beaufort Sea]] lies to its west. To the northeast, [[McClure Strait]] separates the island from [[Prince Patrick Island]] and [[Melville Island, Canada|Melville Island]].
 
  
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It was named "Banks Island" in 1820 by Sir William Parry in honour of Sir [[Joseph Banks]]. However, during the exploration of the area by [[Robert McClure]] (1850-1854) the island was marked on their maps as "Baring Island"[http://ve.tpl.toronto.on.ca/frozen_ocean/map_cresswell_chart.htm].
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'''Banks Island''' is the westernmost island in the [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]]. It is located in the [[Inuvik Region]] of the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Canada]] and is the fourth largest island in the archipelago. The Island is separated from its eastern neighbor, [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]], by the [[Prince of Wales Strait]] and from the continental mainland by [[Amundsen Gulf]] to its south. The [[Beaufort Sea]] lies to the island's west. To the northeast, [[McClure Strait]] separates the island from [[Prince Patrick Island]] and [[Melville Island, Canada|Melville Island]]. The only permanent settlement on the island is [[Sachs Harbour]], an [[Inuit|Inuvialuit]] hamlet on the southwest coast.  
  
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The only permanent [[Inuvialuit]] settlement on the island, [[Sachs Harbour]], or Ikhuak, lies on the southwest coast. Two federal [[List of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of Canada|Migratory Bird Sanctuaries]] were founded on the island in 1961. The island is treeless, with the tallest plant, the [[arctic willow]], growing occasionally to about the height of a person's knee but usually standing no taller than 10 cm.
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Wildlife found there includes [[Arctic fox]]es, [[Wolf|wolves]], [[caribou]], [[polar bear]]s, and the world's largest concentration of [[Muskox|Musk oxen]]. Since the mid-1990s Banks Island has become a Canadian Arctic focal point for studies of [[climate change]].  
  
 
==Geography==
 
==Geography==
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The '''Canadian Arctic Archipelago''', also known as just the '''Arctic Archipelago''', is an [[archipelago]] north of the [[Canada|Canadian]] mainland in the [[Arctic]]. Situated in the [[north]]ern extremity of [[North America]] and covering about {{km2 to mi2|num=1424500|abbr=yes|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes}}, this group of 36,563 [[island]]s comprises much of the territory of [[Northern Canada]] – most of [[Nunavut]] and part of [[Northwest Territories]].
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The [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]] is an [[archipelago]] north of the [[Canada|Canadian]] mainland in the [[Arctic]]. Situated in the northern extremity of [[North America]] and covering about {{km2 to mi2|num=1424500|abbr=yes|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes}}, this group of 36,563 [[island]]s comprises much of the territory of Northern Canada—most of [[Nunavut]] and part of [[Northwest Territories]].
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The archipelago extends some {{km to mi|num=2400|abbr=yes|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes}} longitudinally and {{km to mi|1900|abbr=yes}} from the mainland to [[Cape Columbia]], the northernmost point on [[Ellesmere Island]]. The various islands of the archipelago are separated from each other and the continental mainland by a series of waterways collectively known as the [[Northwest Passage|Northwestern Passages]]. There are 94 major islands (greater than {{km2 to mi2|130|abbr=yes|precision=0}}) and 36,469 minor islands. Banks Island is the fourth largest in the archipelago, fifth largest in Canada, and 24th largest island in the world. It is administratively part of the [[Northwest Territories]].
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It covers an area of {{convert|70028|km2}}. It is approximately {{convert|380|km|sp=us}} long, and at its widest point at the northern end, {{convert|290|km|sp=us}} across. The highest point of the island is in the south, [[Durham Heights]], rising to about {{convert|730|m|sp=US}}.<ref>''Historica Foundation of Canada.'' [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000509 Banks Island] Retrieved February 14, 2009.</ref>
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The island is in the Arctic [[tundra]] [[Geographical zone|climatic zone]], characterized by long, extremely cold [[winter]]s. The north part of the island is [[snow]] and [[ice]] covered, while the west coast is flat, sandy, and often shrouded in fog. Most of the remaining shoreline is flanked by sloping hills of [[gravel]], vertical cliffs of [[sandstone]] and two-billion-year-old [[Precambrian]] rock. Parts of the island's sheltered interior valleys are remarkably lush and temperate during the short summer months, nearly resembling the sheep country of northern [[Scotland]].<ref name=ox>Ed Struzik. January-February, 2000. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1170/is_2000_Jan-Feb/ai_58186923/pg_1?tag=content;col1 And Then There Were 84,000: The return of musk-oxen to Canada's Banks Island in recent decades is just one chapter of a beguiling Arctic mystery] ''CBS Interactive.'' Retrieved February 15, 2009.</ref>
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Climate changes have occurred in recent years, such that [[sea-ice]] has been breaking up earlier than normal, taking [[seal]]s farther south in the summer. Warming has brought various changes; [[salmon]] appeared for the first time in nearby waters between 1999 and 2001. New species of [[bird]]s are migrating to the island, including [[robin]]s and [[barn swallow]]s, and more [[flie]]s and [[mosquito]]s have been appearing.
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The lives of the island's residents has always revolved around the natural environment; [[fishing]], [[hunting]], and travel. Thus they have considerable knowledge of [[weather]] conditions, [[permafrost]], and even [[erosion]] patterns. In recent years they have begun to fear that their knowledge of weather patterns may fail, as recent climate changes have made the weather harder to predict.
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===Flora and fauna===
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Banks Island is home to the endangered [[Peary Caribou]], the [[Barren-ground Caribou]], [[seal]]s, [[polar bear]]s, [[arctic fox]]es, snowy [[owl]]s and [[snow geese]]. Bird life includes such species as [[American Robin|robins]] and [[swallow (bird)|swallow]]s. The island has the highest concentration of [[muskox]]en on earth, with estimates of 68,000 to 80,000 animals, approximately 20 percent of which reside in the [[Aulavik National Park]] in its northwest.<ref name="parkcan">''Parks Canada''.</ref> 
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The Aulavik National Park is a fly-in park that protects approximately {{convert|12274|km|2|abbr=on}} of Arctic lowlands at the northern end of the island. The [[Thomsen River]] runs through the park, and is the northernmost navigable river (by [[canoe]]) in [[North America]]. [[Ptarmigan]] and [[raven]]s are considered the only year-round birds in the park, although 43 different [[species]] make seasonal use of the area.
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Aulavik is considered a [[polar desert]] and often experiences high winds. Precipitation for the park is approximately {{convert|300|mm|abbr=on}} per year.<ref name="parkcan"/> In the southern regions of the park a sparsely vegetated upland [[plateau]] reaches a height of {{convert|450|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref name="parkcan"/> The park has two major bays, [[Castel Bay]] and [[Mercy Bay]], and lies south of the [[McClure Strait]].
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The park is completely [[tree]]less, and [[Arctic Fox]]es, [[North American Brown Lemming|brown]] and [[Northern Collared Lemming]]s, [[Arctic Hare]]s and [[Gray Wolf|wolves]] roam the rugged terrain. Birds of prey in the park include [[Snowy Owl]]s, [[Rough-legged Buzzard|rough-legged hawk]]s, [[Gyrfalcon]]s, and [[Peregrine Falcon]]s, who feed on the lemmings.
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===Musk oxen===
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[[image:Ovibos moschatus.jpg|thumb|240px|Banks Island has the highest concentration of [[Muskox|Musk oxen]] on [[Earth]].]]
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Musk oxen had once lived on Banks Island but were believed to be nearly extinct there since the beginning of the twentieth century. Canadian  [[biology|biologists]] surveying the island's wildlife in 1952 saw one musk ox on their expedition. In the years that followed, musk-ox numbers steadily increased on the island and in 1961, a biologist counted 100 of them. By 1994, the numbers had exploded to 84,000—half of all of the musk-oxen in the world at the time. A 1998 estimate brought the number down to 58,000, a significant decrease but still a robust number.
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The reason for the fall and rise of musk-oxen on Banks Island remains a mystery. Scientists disagree both about why the animals disappeared on Banks and why the species has experienced a phenomenal recovery there since the mid-twentieth century. Banks Island has the highest concentration of the animal on earth.<ref name=ox/>
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==History==
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While parts of the Arctic have been inhabited for nearly 4,000 years, the earliest [[archaeology|archaeological]] sites found on Banks Island are [[Pre-Dorset]] cultural sites that date to approximately 1500 B.C.E. Site excavations have uncovered [[flint]] scrapers, bone [[harpoon]] heads and needles, along with the [[bone]]s of hundreds of [[muskox]]en.
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The island seems to have had little activity from the period 800 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E. The few sites that exist from that era are on the southern part of the island, and exhibit characteristics of both the Eastern Arctic Dorset culture and their Western Arctic counterparts.
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For the next 500 years, [[Thule people]]s occupied several sites along the south coast of the island. Evidence exists of an economy based on harvesting [[sea mammal]]s, particularly [[Whale|bowhead whales]] and ringed [[seal]]s. [[Muskoxen]] were harvested from the northern reaches of the island, though in an expeditionary manner, as no evidence of settlements there exist.  
  
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The archipelago extends some {{km to mi|num=2400|abbr=yes|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes}} longitudinally and {{km to mi|1900|abbr=yes}} from the mainland to [[Cape Columbia]], the northernmost point on [[Ellesmere Island]]. It is bounded on the west by the [[Beaufort Sea]]; on the northwest by the [[Arctic Ocean]]; on the east by [[Greenland]], [[Baffin Bay]] and [[Davis Strait]]; and on the south by [[Hudson Bay]] and the Canadian mainland. The various islands are separated from each other and the continental mainland by a series of waterways collectively known as the [[Northwest Passage|Northwestern Passages]].  Two large [[peninsula]]s, [[Boothia Peninsula|Boothia]] and [[Melville Peninsula|Melville]], extend northward from the mainland.
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Due to the cooling [[climate]] brought on by the [[Little Ice Age]], much of Banks Island was deserted until the seventeenth century. The Thule migrated to smaller regions inland and developed necessary specialized [[hunting]] skills. As the climate warmed, they wandered further and re-established themselves as several closely related but locally distinct groups of [[Inuit]]. One of these groups, the Mackenzie Inuit, or Inuvialuit, occupied sites along the southern coast in the seventeenth through mid-nineteenth centuries.  
  
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The archipelago contains 94 major islands (greater than {{km2 to mi2|130|abbr=yes|precision=0}}), including three of the [[List of islands by area|world's ten largest islands]], and 36,469 minor islands. The sizeable islands of the archipelago (over {{km2 to mi2|10000|abbr=yes}}, in order of descending size) are:
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[[Europe]]an exploration of the island began in the early nineteenth century. In 1820 a member of the expedition of Admiral [[William Edward Parry]] saw land to the southwest of Melville Island. It was christened ''Banksland'' to honor [[Joseph Banks]], an [[England|English]] [[Natural history|naturalist]], [[Botany|botanist]], patron of the [[natural science]]s, and president of the [[Royal Society|Royal Society of London]].
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[[Image:Nlc hms investigator.jpg|thumb|[[HMS HMS Investigator (1848)|HMS ''Investigator'']], Banks Island (then known as Baring Island), 1851]]
  
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It was not until 1850 that Europeans visited Banks Island. [[Robert McClure]], commander of the [[HMS Investigator (1848)|HMS ''Investigator'']] came to the area in search of the lost Franklin Expedition. The ''Investigator'' became trapped in the ice at Mercy Bay at the island's northern end. After three winters, McClure and his crew—who were by that time dying of starvation—were found by searchers who had traveled by sledge over the ice from a ship of Sir Edward Belcher's expedition. They hiked across the sea-ice of the strait to Belcher's ships, which had entered the sound from the east. McClure and his crew returned to England in 1854 on one of Belcher's ships. At the time they referred to the island as "Baring Island."
  
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From 1855 to 1890 the Mercy Bay area was visited by the [[Copper Inuit]] of [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]] who came to salvage materials left by McClure's party. They also hunted the [[caribou]] and [[muskox]] in the area as evidenced by the large number of food caches.
  
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Banks Island covers an area 70,028 km²
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In the twentieth century the area was popular with [[Inuvialuit]] due to the large numbers of [[fox]]es. Until the [[fur trade]] went into decline, fox trapping provided a source of income for people from as far away as the [[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie Delta]] and the [[Alaska North Slope|North Slope]] of [[Alaska]]. This influx of people led to the establishment of [[Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories|Sachs Harbour]], the only community on the island.<ref>''Parks Canada''. [http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul2_E.asp History and culture] Retrieved February 15, 2009.</ref>
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(27,038 sq mi) and it is the [[List of islands by area|world's 24th largest island]] and [[List of Canadian islands by area|Canada's fifth largest island]]. It is approximately 380 km (236 mi) long, and at its widest point at the northern end, 290 km (180 mi) across. The highest point of the island is in the south, [[Durham Heights]], rising to about 730 m.[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000509] It is part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and had a population of 114 in 2001, all in Sachs Harbour. Banks Island is home to two thirds of the world's population of lesser [[snow goose|snow geese]], which make their way across the [[Amundsen Gulf]] from the mainland. There is an annual goose hunt in the spring out of Sachs Harbour. The island is part of the [[Tundra]] world [[biome]], which has extremely cold winters. The island is home to [[Barren-ground Caribou]], [[polar bear]]s, [[musk-ox]]en, and birds such as [[American Robin|robins]] and [[swallow (bird)|swallow]]s.
 
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[[Image:Nlc hms investigator.jpg|thumb|left|[[HMS HMS Investigator (1848)|HMS ''Investigator'']], Baring Island, 1851]]
 
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The [[Aulavik National Park]] of Canada, a fly-in park, protects approximately 12,274 km² (4,739 sq mi) of Arctic lowlands at the northern end of the island. The park has the highest concentration of musk-oxen on earth, and is home to the endangered [[Peary Caribou]]. The [[Thomsen River]] runs through the park, and is the northernmost navigable river (by [[canoe]]) in [[North America]]. [[Ptarmigan]] and [[raven]]s are considered the only year-round birds in the park, although 43 different species make seasonal use of the area.  
 
  
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The first [[Grizzly-polar bear hybrid]] found in the wild, was on Banks Island in April 2006 near [[Sachs Harbour]].
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==Population==
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The only permanent settlement on Banks Island is the hamlet of Sachs Harbour, situated on its southwestern coast. According to Canada's 2006 census, the population was 122 individuals.<ref name=stats>''Statistics Canada''. [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6107041&Geo2=PR&Code2=61&Data=Count&SearchText=Sachs%20Harbour&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= All Data, Sachs Harbour] Retrieved February 14, 2009.</ref> The town was named after the ship ''Mary Sachs'', which was part of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913.
  
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== Aulavik National Park ==
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The community's [[Economic system|economy]] is based largely on [[hunting]] and trapping, but [[tourism]] also plays a small role. Most of the town lies within 250 yards of the shoreline. Residents [[also]] engage in [[ice fishing]], harvesting [[fish]] from the [[Amundsen Gulf]] and the [[Beaufort Sea]]. [[Petroleum|Oil]] and [[natural gas|gas]] exploration has provided jobs over the years for some Sachs Harbour residents—estimates of commercially recoverable oil in the Beaufort Sea range from four to 12 billion [[Barrel (unit)|barrel]]s, and there is believed to be between 13 and {{convert|63|Tcuft|km3}} of natural gas.  
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'''Aulavik National Park''' ([[Inuvialuktun]]: ''place where people travel'') is a [[national park]] located on [[Banks Island]] in the [[Northwest Territories]] of [[Canada]].<ref name="parkcan">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/index_E.asp Aulavik National Park of Canada]</ref> It is known for its access to the [[Thomsen River]], one of the most northerly navigable rivers in [[North America]].<ref name="parkcan"/> The park is a fly-in park, and protects approximately {{convert|12274|km|2|abbr=on}} of [[Arctic Lowlands]] at the northern end of the island.<ref name="parkcan"/><ref name="getthere">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/visit/visit1_e.asp#access How to Get There - Aircraft access]</ref> The most practical way to visit the park is to charter a plane,<ref name="getthere"/> and currently the park has four landing sites.<ref name="map">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/visit/visit1_e.asp#map2 How to Get There - Map of Aulavik]</ref> Aulavik is considered a [[polar desert]] and often experiences high winds. Precipitation for the park is approximately {{convert|300|mm|abbr=on}} per year.<ref name="parkclim">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul1_E.asp#climate Natural Wonders & Cultural Treasures - Climate]</ref> In the southern regions of the park a sparsely vegetated upland plateau reaches a height of {{convert|450|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref name="parkgeo">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul1_E.asp#geography Natural Wonders & Cultural Treasures - Geography]</ref>
 
  
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The park has the highest concentration of [[muskox]]en on earth, with estimates of 68,000 to 80,000 animals on the island, approximately 20% of which are thought to reside in the park.<ref name="parkwild">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul1_E.asp#wildlife Natural Wonders & Cultural Treasures - Animals]</ref><ref name="parkcan"/> It is also home to the endangered [[Peary Caribou]] as well as the more common [[Barren-ground Caribou]].<ref name="parkcan"/><ref name="parkwild"/> [[Ptarmigan]] and [[raven]]s are considered the only year-round birds in the park, although 43 different species make seasonal use of the area.<ref name="parkbird">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul1_E.asp#birds Natural Wonders & Cultural Treasures - Birds]</ref> The park is completely treeless,<ref>[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul1_E.asp#vegetation Natural Wonders & Cultural Treasures - Vegetation]</ref> and [[Arctic Fox]]es, [[North American Brown Lemming|brown]] and [[Northern Collared Lemming]]s, [[Arctic Hare]]s and [[Gray Wolf|wolves]] roam the rugged terrain. Birds of prey in the park include [[Snowy Owl]]s, [[Rough-legged Buzzard|rough-legged hawk]]s, [[Gyrfalcon]]s, and [[Peregrine Falcon]]s, who feed on the lemmings.<ref name="parkwild"/><ref name="parkbird"/>
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The two principal [[language]]s in the town are [[Inuvialuktun]] and [[English language|English]]. The traditional name for the area is "Ikahuak," meaning "where you go across to." Bulk supplies of food and other items are brought by barge in the summer months and flights from [[Inuvik]], some 325 miles (523km) to the southwest, operate all year.  
  
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Prior to the arrival of the [[Thule people|Thule culture]] in southern Banks Island there were some [[Dorset culture|Pre-Dorset culture]] people living in what is now the Aulavik National Park.<ref name="parkhist">[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/aulavik/natcul/natcul2_E.asp History and culture]</ref> Due to the cooling climate brought on by the  [[Little Ice Age]] Banks Island was most likely deserted until the arrival of the [[Inuvialuit]] in the 17th century.<ref name="parkhist"/>
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The town hosts a [[goose]] hunt every spring—Banks Island being the home to the largest goose colony in [[North America]]. The community is also home to the largest commercial [[muskox]] harvests in [[Canada]]. Three quarters of the world's population of muskoxen roam the island. The first [[Grizzly-polar bear hybrid]] found in the wild near [[Sachs Harbour]] in April 2006.
  
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Aulavik National Park has two major bays, [[Castel Bay]] and [[Mercy Bay]], and lies south of the [[McClure Strait]]. Captain [[Robert McClure]], spent two winters in Mercy Bay on [[HMS Investigator (1848)|HMS ''Investigator'']], while searching for the missing [[John Franklin]]'s [[Franklin's lost expedition|lost expedition]] between 1850 and 1853. McClure's team abandoned their ship in Mercy Bay and hiked across the sea-ice of the strait to board another ship, HMS ''Resolute''.<ref name="parkhist"/>
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==Looking ahead==
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Banks Island has become a focal point for [[climate change]] studies in the Canadian Arctic.
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However, long-term [[climate]] and environmental data from the island is sparse. While much of the current knowledge is based on [[science|scientific]] findings; traditional knowledge, guided by generations of experience, can supplement modern findings. The [[Inuvialuit]] have generations of extensive knowledge of the Arctic environment, and most have voiced that current environmental changes are without precedent.
  
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The Mercy Bay area was visited by the [[Copper Inuit]] of [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]] to salvage materials left by McClure's party.<ref name="parkhist"/> They also hunted the caribou and muskox in the area as evidenced by the large number of food caches.<ref name="parkhist"/> In the 20th century the area was popular with Inuvialuit due to the large numbers of foxes.<ref name="parkhist"/> Until the [[fur trade]] went into decline, fox trapping provided a source of income for people from as far away as the [[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie Delta]] and the [[Alaska North Slope|North Slope]] of [[Alaska]].<ref name="parkhist"/> This influx of people led to the establishment of [[Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories|Sachs Harbour]], the only community on the island.<ref name="parkhist"/>
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Changes in the [[natural environment|environment]] as noted by the Sachs Harbour community include freeze-ups that are three to four weeks late. Intense, unpredictable [[weather]] and fluctuations in [[season]]s have also been observed. Severe [[storm]]s with [[wind]], [[thunder]], [[lightning]], and [[hail]] and the disappearance of summer ice floes have also been noted. Earlier [[birth]]s of [[muskox]], [[Goose|geese]] laying eggs earlier, and [[polar bear]]s emerging from their dens earlier because of warming and thaw round out the list. Inuvialuit natives to Banks Island have also described catching [[species]] of [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[salmon]] when traditionally such occurrences were unheard of. Too much open water in the winter makes harvesting [[animal]]s difficult, as does the lack of [[snow]] in spring, the lack of sea ice in summer, increased freezing [[rain]], and thinner [[ice]].<ref name=dyr>Dyanna Riedlinger, [http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic52-4-430.pdf Climate Change and the Inuvialuit of Banks Island, NWT: Using Traditional Environmental Knowledge to Complement Western Science] ''Arctic Institute of North America''. Retrieved February 15, 2009.</ref>
  
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Historically, the Arctic peoples' lives have been intimately intertwined with the environment and they have survived and developed by adapting to environmental changes. However, the rate at which the changes the people of Banks Island are experiencing is rapid enough to be outside their realm of experience. It will be necessary to link traditional knowledge with scientific expertise in order to understand the potential impacts of climate change on the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] peoples.
  
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==Further reading==
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==Notes==
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<div class="references-small">
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<references/>
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* Canada. ''Banks Island, a Natural Area of Canadian Significance''. Natural area of Canadian significance. Ottawa: Parks Canada, 1978.
 
−
* Cotter, R. C., and J. E. Hines. 2001. "Breeding Biology of Brant on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada". ''Arctic''. 54: 357-366.
 
−
* Gajewski, K, R Mott, J Ritchie, and K Hadden. 2000. "Holocene Vegetation History of Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada". ''Canadian Journal of Botany''. 78: 430-436.
 
−
* Holyoak, D. T. ''Notes on the Birds of Southwestern Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada''. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol.103,No.2, June. 1983.
 
−
* Manning, T. H., E. O. Höhn, and A. H. Macpherson. ''The Birds of Banks Island''. 1956.
 
−
* Stephens, L. E., L. W. Sobczak, and E. S. Wainwright. ''Gravity Measurements on Banks Island, N.W.T''. Gravity map series, no. 150. Ottawa: Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, Earth Physics Branch, 1972.
 
−
* Struzik, Ed. 2000. "AND THEN THERE WERE 84,000 - The Return of Musk-Oxen to Canada's Banks Island in Recent Decades Is Just One Chapter of a Beguiling Arctic Mystery". ''International Wildlife''. 30, no. 1: 28.
 
−
* Will, Richard T. ''Utilization of Banks Island Muskoxen by Nineteenth Century Copper Inuit''. [S.l.]: Boreal Institute for Northern Studies, 1983.
 
−
</div>
 
  
−
==External links & References==
+
==References==
−
*[http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/healy/deployments/AEWS03/Northwest%20Passage/Historical%20Guide/Historical%20Guide.htm Historical sites of the Northwest Passage]
+
* Canada. ''Banks Island, a Natural Area of Canadian Significance''. Natural area of Canadian significance. Ottawa: Parks Canada, 1978. {{OCLC|31113171}}
−
*[http://ve.tpl.toronto.on.ca/frozen_ocean/map_inglefield_1853.htm Chart of the Northwest Passage]
+
* Cotter, R. C., and J. E. Hines. "Breeding Biology of Brant on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada." ''Arctic''. 54 (2001): 357-366. {{OCLC|107610126}}
−
*[http://www.civilization.ca/hist/cae/exp36be.html Banks Island at civilization.ca]
+
* Gajewski, K., R. Mott, J. Ritchie, and K. Hadden. "Holocene Vegetation History of Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada." ''Canadian Journal of Botany''. 78 (2000): 430-436. {{OCLC|197133460}}
 +
* Holyoak, D. T. ''Notes on the Birds of Southwestern Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada''. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 103(2) (June, 1983). {{OCLC|70523333}}
 +
* Manning, T. H., E. O. Höhn, and A. H. Macpherson. ''The Birds of Banks Island'', 1956. {{OCLC|4711934}}
 +
* Stephens, L. E., L. W. Sobczak, and E. S. Wainwright. ''Gravity Measurements on Banks Island, N.W.T''. Gravity map series, no. 150. Ottawa: Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, Earth Physics Branch, 1972. {{OCLC|85756011}}
 +
* Struzik, Ed. "AND THEN THERE WERE 84,000 - The Return of Musk-Oxen to Canada's Banks Island in Recent Decades Is Just One Chapter of a Beguiling Arctic Mystery." ''International Wildlife''. 30(1) (2000): 28.  
 +
* Will, Richard T. ''Utilization of Banks Island Muskoxen by Nineteenth Century Copper Inuit''. [S.l.]: Boreal Institute for Northern Studies, 1983. {{OCLC|36799378}}
  
 
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{{credit|Banks_Island|270342238|Canadian_Arctic_Archipelago|270299865|Aulavik_National_Park|263033703}}
 

Latest revision as of 22:51, 19 July 2019

Banks
Canada2.A2002165.1940.250m.jpg

These Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Images from June 14 and 16, 2002, show Banks Island (upper left) and Victoria Island (to the southeast)

Geography
Map indicating Banks Island, New Territories, Canada.png
LocationBeaufort Sea
Coordinates73°00′N 121°30′W / 73, -121.5Coordinates: 73°00′N 121°30′W / 73, -121.5
ArchipelagoCanadian Arctic Archipelago
Area70,028 km² (27,038 sq mi) (24th)
Length380 km (240 mi)
Width290 km (180 mi)
Highest pointDurham Heights (730 m (2,400 ft))
Country
Flag of Canada Canada
TerritoryFlag of Northwest Territories Northwest Territories
Largest citySachs Harbour
Demographics
Population136 (as of 2010)
Density0.0016 people/km2


Closer look at Banks Island
Satellite photo montage of Banks Island

Banks Island is the westernmost island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada and is the fourth largest island in the archipelago. The Island is separated from its eastern neighbor, Victoria Island, by the Prince of Wales Strait and from the continental mainland by Amundsen Gulf to its south. The Beaufort Sea lies to the island's west. To the northeast, McClure Strait separates the island from Prince Patrick Island and Melville Island. The only permanent settlement on the island is Sachs Harbour, an Inuvialuit hamlet on the southwest coast.

Wildlife found there includes Arctic foxes, wolves, caribou, polar bears, and the world's largest concentration of Musk oxen. Since the mid-1990s Banks Island has become a Canadian Arctic focal point for studies of climate change.

Geography

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago is an archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic. Situated in the northern extremity of North America and covering about 1,424,500 km² (550,003 sq mi), this group of 36,563 islands comprises much of the territory of Northern Canada—most of Nunavut and part of Northwest Territories.

The archipelago extends some 2,400 km (1,491 mi) longitudinally and 1,900 km (1,180.6 mi) from the mainland to Cape Columbia, the northernmost point on Ellesmere Island. The various islands of the archipelago are separated from each other and the continental mainland by a series of waterways collectively known as the Northwestern Passages. There are 94 major islands (greater than 130 km² (50 sq mi)) and 36,469 minor islands. Banks Island is the fourth largest in the archipelago, fifth largest in Canada, and 24th largest island in the world. It is administratively part of the Northwest Territories.

It covers an area of 70,028 square kilometers (27,038 sq mi). It is approximately 380 kilometers (240 mi) long, and at its widest point at the northern end, 290 kilometers (180 mi) across. The highest point of the island is in the south, Durham Heights, rising to about 730 metres (2,400 ft).[1]

The island is in the Arctic tundra climatic zone, characterized by long, extremely cold winters. The north part of the island is snow and ice covered, while the west coast is flat, sandy, and often shrouded in fog. Most of the remaining shoreline is flanked by sloping hills of gravel, vertical cliffs of sandstone and two-billion-year-old Precambrian rock. Parts of the island's sheltered interior valleys are remarkably lush and temperate during the short summer months, nearly resembling the sheep country of northern Scotland.[2]

Climate changes have occurred in recent years, such that sea-ice has been breaking up earlier than normal, taking seals farther south in the summer. Warming has brought various changes; salmon appeared for the first time in nearby waters between 1999 and 2001. New species of birds are migrating to the island, including robins and barn swallows, and more flies and mosquitos have been appearing.

The lives of the island's residents has always revolved around the natural environment; fishing, hunting, and travel. Thus they have considerable knowledge of weather conditions, permafrost, and even erosion patterns. In recent years they have begun to fear that their knowledge of weather patterns may fail, as recent climate changes have made the weather harder to predict.

Flora and fauna

Banks Island is home to the endangered Peary Caribou, the Barren-ground Caribou, seals, polar bears, arctic foxes, snowy owls and snow geese. Bird life includes such species as robins and swallows. The island has the highest concentration of muskoxen on earth, with estimates of 68,000 to 80,000 animals, approximately 20 percent of which reside in the Aulavik National Park in its northwest.[3]

The Aulavik National Park is a fly-in park that protects approximately 12,274 km (7,626.71 mi) of Arctic lowlands at the northern end of the island. The Thomsen River runs through the park, and is the northernmost navigable river (by canoe) in North America. Ptarmigan and ravens are considered the only year-round birds in the park, although 43 different species make seasonal use of the area.

Aulavik is considered a polar desert and often experiences high winds. Precipitation for the park is approximately 300 mm (12 in) per year.[3] In the southern regions of the park a sparsely vegetated upland plateau reaches a height of 450 m (1,500 ft) above sea level.[3] The park has two major bays, Castel Bay and Mercy Bay, and lies south of the McClure Strait.

The park is completely treeless, and Arctic Foxes, brown and Northern Collared Lemmings, Arctic Hares and wolves roam the rugged terrain. Birds of prey in the park include Snowy Owls, rough-legged hawks, Gyrfalcons, and Peregrine Falcons, who feed on the lemmings.

Musk oxen

Banks Island has the highest concentration of Musk oxen on Earth.

Musk oxen had once lived on Banks Island but were believed to be nearly extinct there since the beginning of the twentieth century. Canadian biologists surveying the island's wildlife in 1952 saw one musk ox on their expedition. In the years that followed, musk-ox numbers steadily increased on the island and in 1961, a biologist counted 100 of them. By 1994, the numbers had exploded to 84,000—half of all of the musk-oxen in the world at the time. A 1998 estimate brought the number down to 58,000, a significant decrease but still a robust number.

The reason for the fall and rise of musk-oxen on Banks Island remains a mystery. Scientists disagree both about why the animals disappeared on Banks and why the species has experienced a phenomenal recovery there since the mid-twentieth century. Banks Island has the highest concentration of the animal on earth.[2]

History

While parts of the Arctic have been inhabited for nearly 4,000 years, the earliest archaeological sites found on Banks Island are Pre-Dorset cultural sites that date to approximately 1500 B.C.E. Site excavations have uncovered flint scrapers, bone harpoon heads and needles, along with the bones of hundreds of muskoxen.

The island seems to have had little activity from the period 800 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E. The few sites that exist from that era are on the southern part of the island, and exhibit characteristics of both the Eastern Arctic Dorset culture and their Western Arctic counterparts.

For the next 500 years, Thule peoples occupied several sites along the south coast of the island. Evidence exists of an economy based on harvesting sea mammals, particularly bowhead whales and ringed seals. Muskoxen were harvested from the northern reaches of the island, though in an expeditionary manner, as no evidence of settlements there exist.

Due to the cooling climate brought on by the Little Ice Age, much of Banks Island was deserted until the seventeenth century. The Thule migrated to smaller regions inland and developed necessary specialized hunting skills. As the climate warmed, they wandered further and re-established themselves as several closely related but locally distinct groups of Inuit. One of these groups, the Mackenzie Inuit, or Inuvialuit, occupied sites along the southern coast in the seventeenth through mid-nineteenth centuries.

European exploration of the island began in the early nineteenth century. In 1820 a member of the expedition of Admiral William Edward Parry saw land to the southwest of Melville Island. It was christened Banksland to honor Joseph Banks, an English naturalist, botanist, patron of the natural sciences, and president of the Royal Society of London.

HMS Investigator, Banks Island (then known as Baring Island), 1851

It was not until 1850 that Europeans visited Banks Island. Robert McClure, commander of the HMS Investigator came to the area in search of the lost Franklin Expedition. The Investigator became trapped in the ice at Mercy Bay at the island's northern end. After three winters, McClure and his crew—who were by that time dying of starvation—were found by searchers who had traveled by sledge over the ice from a ship of Sir Edward Belcher's expedition. They hiked across the sea-ice of the strait to Belcher's ships, which had entered the sound from the east. McClure and his crew returned to England in 1854 on one of Belcher's ships. At the time they referred to the island as "Baring Island."

From 1855 to 1890 the Mercy Bay area was visited by the Copper Inuit of Victoria Island who came to salvage materials left by McClure's party. They also hunted the caribou and muskox in the area as evidenced by the large number of food caches.

In the twentieth century the area was popular with Inuvialuit due to the large numbers of foxes. Until the fur trade went into decline, fox trapping provided a source of income for people from as far away as the Mackenzie Delta and the North Slope of Alaska. This influx of people led to the establishment of Sachs Harbour, the only community on the island.[4]

Population

The only permanent settlement on Banks Island is the hamlet of Sachs Harbour, situated on its southwestern coast. According to Canada's 2006 census, the population was 122 individuals.[5] The town was named after the ship Mary Sachs, which was part of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913.

The community's economy is based largely on hunting and trapping, but tourism also plays a small role. Most of the town lies within 250 yards of the shoreline. Residents also engage in ice fishing, harvesting fish from the Amundsen Gulf and the Beaufort Sea. Oil and gas exploration has provided jobs over the years for some Sachs Harbour residents—estimates of commercially recoverable oil in the Beaufort Sea range from four to 12 billion barrels, and there is believed to be between 13 and 63 trillion cubic feet (1,800 km3) of natural gas.

The two principal languages in the town are Inuvialuktun and English. The traditional name for the area is "Ikahuak," meaning "where you go across to." Bulk supplies of food and other items are brought by barge in the summer months and flights from Inuvik, some 325 miles (523km) to the southwest, operate all year.

The town hosts a goose hunt every spring—Banks Island being the home to the largest goose colony in North America. The community is also home to the largest commercial muskox harvests in Canada. Three quarters of the world's population of muskoxen roam the island. The first Grizzly-polar bear hybrid found in the wild near Sachs Harbour in April 2006.

Looking ahead

Banks Island has become a focal point for climate change studies in the Canadian Arctic. However, long-term climate and environmental data from the island is sparse. While much of the current knowledge is based on scientific findings; traditional knowledge, guided by generations of experience, can supplement modern findings. The Inuvialuit have generations of extensive knowledge of the Arctic environment, and most have voiced that current environmental changes are without precedent.

Changes in the environment as noted by the Sachs Harbour community include freeze-ups that are three to four weeks late. Intense, unpredictable weather and fluctuations in seasons have also been observed. Severe storms with wind, thunder, lightning, and hail and the disappearance of summer ice floes have also been noted. Earlier births of muskox, geese laying eggs earlier, and polar bears emerging from their dens earlier because of warming and thaw round out the list. Inuvialuit natives to Banks Island have also described catching species of Pacific salmon when traditionally such occurrences were unheard of. Too much open water in the winter makes harvesting animals difficult, as does the lack of snow in spring, the lack of sea ice in summer, increased freezing rain, and thinner ice.[6]

Historically, the Arctic peoples' lives have been intimately intertwined with the environment and they have survived and developed by adapting to environmental changes. However, the rate at which the changes the people of Banks Island are experiencing is rapid enough to be outside their realm of experience. It will be necessary to link traditional knowledge with scientific expertise in order to understand the potential impacts of climate change on the indigenous peoples.

Notes

  1. ↑ Historica Foundation of Canada. Banks Island Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ed Struzik. January-February, 2000. And Then There Were 84,000: The return of musk-oxen to Canada's Banks Island in recent decades is just one chapter of a beguiling Arctic mystery CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Parks Canada.
  4. ↑ Parks Canada. History and culture Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  5. ↑ Statistics Canada. All Data, Sachs Harbour Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  6. ↑ Dyanna Riedlinger, Climate Change and the Inuvialuit of Banks Island, NWT: Using Traditional Environmental Knowledge to Complement Western Science Arctic Institute of North America. Retrieved February 15, 2009.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Canada. Banks Island, a Natural Area of Canadian Significance. Natural area of Canadian significance. Ottawa: Parks Canada, 1978. OCLC 31113171
  • Cotter, R. C., and J. E. Hines. "Breeding Biology of Brant on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada." Arctic. 54 (2001): 357-366. OCLC 107610126
  • Gajewski, K., R. Mott, J. Ritchie, and K. Hadden. "Holocene Vegetation History of Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada." Canadian Journal of Botany. 78 (2000): 430-436. OCLC 197133460
  • Holyoak, D. T. Notes on the Birds of Southwestern Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 103(2) (June, 1983). OCLC 70523333
  • Manning, T. H., E. O. Höhn, and A. H. Macpherson. The Birds of Banks Island, 1956. OCLC 4711934
  • Stephens, L. E., L. W. Sobczak, and E. S. Wainwright. Gravity Measurements on Banks Island, N.W.T. Gravity map series, no. 150. Ottawa: Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, Earth Physics Branch, 1972. OCLC 85756011
  • Struzik, Ed. "AND THEN THERE WERE 84,000 - The Return of Musk-Oxen to Canada's Banks Island in Recent Decades Is Just One Chapter of a Beguiling Arctic Mystery." International Wildlife. 30(1) (2000): 28.
  • Will, Richard T. Utilization of Banks Island Muskoxen by Nineteenth Century Copper Inuit. [S.l.]: Boreal Institute for Northern Studies, 1983. OCLC 36799378

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