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 Southampton Island within Nunavut |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Northern Canada |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Archipelago | Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
| Area | 41,214 km² |
| Highest point | () |
| Administration | |
 Canada |
|
| Territory |  Nunavut |
| Largest city | Iqaluit (6,184) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 712 (as of Canada 2001 Census) |
| Density | people/km² |
| Ethnic groups | Inuit |
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One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay, Canada. It is part of the Kivalliq Region of the Nunavut Territory. The area of the island is stated as 41,214 km² by Statistics Canada [1]. It is the 34th largest island in the world and Canada's 9th largest island. The only settlement on Southampton Island is Coral Harbour (pop. 712, Canada 2001 Census), called in Inuit Salliq.
It's separated from the Melville Peninsula by Frozen Strait.[1]
East Bay Bird Sanctuary and Harry Gibbons Bird Sanctuary are located on the island and are important breeding sites for the Lesser Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens caerulescens).
Southampton Island is one of the few Canadian areas, and the only area in Nunavut, that does not use daylight saving time.
History
Historically speaking, Southampton Island is famous for its now-extinct inhabitants, the Sadlermiut (modern Inuktitut Sallirmiut "Inhabitants of Salliq"), who were the last vestige of the Tuniit. The Tuniit, a pre-Inuit culture, officially went ethnically and culturally extinct in 1902-03[2] when a Western illness killed all of the Sallirmiut in a matter of weeks.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the island was repopulated by Aivilingmiut from Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet, influenced to do so by whaler Capt. George Comer and others. Baffin Islanders arrived 25 years later. John Ell, who as a young child travelled with his mother Shoofly on Comer's schooners, eventually became the most famous of Southampton Island's re-settled population.[3]
Gallery
 Closeup of Southampton Island |
 Capt. Capt. George Comer's 1913 map of Southampton. |
 Satellite photo montage of Southampton Island |
References
- ^ "Frozen Strait". The Columbia Gazetteer of North America (2000). Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ Briggs, Jean L.; J. Garth Taylor. "The Canadian Encyclopedia: Sadlermiut Inuit". Historica Foundation of Canada. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
- ^ Rowley, Graham. Cold comfort : my love affair with the Arctic. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 38. ISBN 0773513930. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
Further reading
- Bird, J. Brian. Southampton Island. Ottawa: E. Cloutier, 1953.
- Brack, D. M. Southampton Island Area Economic Survey With Notes on Repulse Bay and Wager Bay. Ottawa: Area & Community Planning Section, Industrial Division, Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1962.
- Mathiassen, Therkel. Contributions to the Physiography of Southampton Island. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel, 1931.
- Parker, G. R. An Investigation of Caribou Range on Southampton Island, Northwest Territories. Ottawa: Information Canada, 1975.
- Pickavance, J. R. 2006. "The Spiders of East Bay, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada". Arctic. 59, no. 3: 276-282.
- Popham RE. 1953. "A Comparative Analysis of the Digital Patterns of Eskimo from Southampton Island". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 11, no. 2: 203-13.
- Popham RE, and WD Bell. 1951. "Eskimo crania from Southampton Island". Revue Canadienne De Biologie / ̐ưedit̐ưee Par L'Universit̐ưe De Montr̐ưeal. 10, no. 5: 435-42.
- Sutton, George Miksch, and John Bonner Semple. The Exploration of Southampton Island. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1932.
- Sutton, George Miksch. The Birds of Southampton Island. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1932.
- VanStone, James W. The Economy and Population Shifts of the Eskimos of Southampton Island. Ottawa: Northern Co-ordination and Research Centre, Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1959.
