Arctic Cordillera
Baffin Mountains ecoregion of the Arctic Cordillera
Ecology
Borders	Northern Arctic Taiga Shield
Geography
Area	242,190 km2 (93,510 mi2)
Country	Canada
Provinces	Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut Quebec
Coordinates	81°56′N74°54′W / 81.93°N 74.90°W /81.93; -74.90
Climate type	Polar andIce cap

TheArctic Cordillera is a terrestrialecozone in northern Canada characterized by a vast, deeply dissected chain ofmountain ranges extending along the northeastern flank of theCanadian Arctic Archipelago fromEllesmere Island to the northeasternmost part of theLabrador Peninsula in northernLabrador and northernQuebec, Canada. It spans most of the eastern coast ofNunavut with high glaciated peaks rising through ice fields and some of Canada's largest ice caps, including thePenny Ice Cap onBaffin Island.^[1] It is bounded to the east byBaffin Bay,Davis Strait and theLabrador Sea while its northern portion is bounded by theArctic Ocean.

The geographic range is composed along the provinces of Labrador: including EasternBaffin,Devon Island,Ellesmere,Bylot Island, theTorngat Mountains, and some parts of the Northeastern fringe. The landscape is dominated by massive polar icefields, alpine glaciers, inland fjords, and large bordering bodies of water, distinctive of many similar arctic regions in the world. Although the terrain is infamous for its unforgiving conditions, humans maintained an established population of 1000 people – 80% of which wereInuit. In addition, the landscape is 75% covered by ice or exposed bedrock, with a continuouspermafrost that persists throughout the year, making plant and animal life somewhat scarce. The temperature of the Arctic Cordillera ranges from 6 °C in summer, down to −16 °C in winter.^{[dubious –discuss]} Vegetation is largely absent in this area due to permanent ice and snow.^[2]

The range is mostly located in Nunavut but extends southeast into the northernmost tip of Labrador and northeastern Quebec. The system is divided into a series of ranges, with mountains reaching heights of more than 2,000 m (6,562 ft). The highest isBarbeau Peak on Ellesmere Island at 2,616 m (8,583 ft), which is the highest point in easternNorth America.^[3] The system is also one of Canada's three mountain systems, the others being theWestern Cordillera ofWestern Canada^[4] and the Canadian extension of theAppalachian Mountains into theGaspé Peninsula andAtlantic Provinces.

The Arctic Cordillera is a narrowecozone compared to other Canadian ecozones.^[5] The majority of this ecozone borders theNorthern Arctic, while the small segment within Labrador borders theTaiga Shield. While the Arctic Cordillera mountain system includes most of the Arctic islands and regions such asBathurst Island,Cornwall Island,Amund Ringnes Island,Ellef Ringnes Island, Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island,Bylot Island and Labrador, the Arctic Cordillera Ecozone only covers Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island,Axel Heiberg Island, Bylot Island and Labrador.^[4]

The Arctic Cordillera is geographically diverse. Much of Ellesmere Island is covered by the Arctic Cordillera, making it the most mountainous in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.^[6] It is considered part of theQueen Elizabeth Islands, withCape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada. It encompasses an area of 196,235 km² (75,767 sq mi), making it theworld's tenth largest island andCanada's third largest island. The first inhabitants of Ellesmere Island were small bands ofInuit drawn to the area forPeary caribou,muskox, andmarine mammal hunting about 1000–2000 BC.^[7]

Axel Heiberg Island is one of the several members of theCanadian Arctic Archipelago and the largest of theSverdrup Islands, having an area of 43,178 km² (16,671 sq mi). It has been inhabited in the past by Inuit, but was uninhabited by the time it was named byOtto Sverdrup, who explored it around 1900. In 1959, scientists fromMcGill University explored Expedition Fiord in central Axel Heiberg Island. This resulted in the establishment of theMcGill Arctic Research Station, constructed 8 km (5 mi) inland from Expedition Fjord in 1960.

Baffin Island is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest in the world, with an area of 507,451 km² (195,928 sq mi).

Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island onEarth. With an area of 55,247 km² (21,331 sq mi), it is the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, the27th largest in the world and Canada's 6th largest. An outpost was established atDundas Harbour in August 1924 as part of a government presence intended to curb foreignwhaling and other activity.

Much of Bylot Island is covered by the Arctic Cordillera. At 11,067 km² (4,273 sq mi) it is ranked71st largest island in the world and Canada's 17th largest. While there are no permanent settlements on Bylot, Inuit fromPond Inlet regularly travel to it.

More than one-fifth of Ellesmere Island is protected asQuttinirpaaq National Park (formerly Ellesmere Island National Park), which includes sevenfjords and a variety ofglaciers, as well asLake Hazen, the world's largest lake north of theArctic Circle. Barbeau Peak, the highest mountain in Nunavut at2616 m (8583 ft), is located in theBritish Empire Range on Ellesmere Island. The most northern mountain range in the world, theChallenger Mountains, is located in the northwest region of the island. The northern lobe of the island is calledGrant Land.

In July 2007, a study noted the disappearance ofhabitat for waterfowl, invertebrates, and algae on Ellesmere Island. According to John P. Smol ofQueen's University inKingston, Ontario, and Marianne S. V. Douglas of theUniversity of Alberta in Edmonton, warming conditions and evaporation have caused low-water-level changes in the chemistry of ponds and wetlands in the area. The researchers noted, "In the 1980s they often needed to wear hip waders to make their way to the ponds, while by 2006 the same areas were dry enough to burn."^[8]

Sirmilik National Park in northern Baffin Island harbours large populations ofthick-billed murres,black-legged kittiwakes andgreater snow geese. The park comprises three areas: Bylot Island,Oliver Sound and theBorden Peninsula.

Auyuittuq National Park, located on Baffin Island'sCumberland Peninsula, features the many terrains ofArctic wilderness such as fjords, glaciers, andice fields. InInuktitut—the language of Nunavut's Aboriginal people, Inuit—Auyuittuq means "the land that never melts." AlthoughAuyuittuq was established in 1976 as a national park reserve, it was upgraded to a full national park in 2000. Well-known peaks in the park includeMount Asgard andMount Thor, with a1250 m (4101 ft), 105° cliff face.

TheTorngat Mountains National Park Reserve, located on theLabrador Peninsula, covers much of the southern end of the Arctic Cordillera. It protects many species of Arctic wildlife, such ascaribou,polar bears,peregrine falcons andgolden eagles. The park was established on January 22, 2005, making it the first national park to be created in Labrador.

The drier northern section of the Arctic Cordillera is largely covered withice caps while glaciers are more common at the more humid southern end. Large portions of Ellesmere Island are covered with glaciers and ice, with Manson Icefield and Sydkap in the south; Prince of Wales Icefield and Agassiz Ice Cap along the central-east side of the island; and substantial ice cover in Northern Ellesmere Island. The northwest coast of Ellesmere Island was covered by a massive, 500 km (310 mi) long ice shelf until the 20th century. The Ellesmere ice shelf reduced by 90 percent in the twentieth century due toglobal warming, leaving the separate Alfred Ernest, Ayles, Milne, Ward Hunt, and Markham Ice Shelves.^[9] A 1986 survey of Canadian ice shelves found that 48 km² (19 sq mi), involving 3.3 km³ (0.79 cu mi) of ice, calved from theMilne andAyles ice shelves between 1959 and 1974.^[10] TheWard Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest remaining section of thick (greater than 10 m [33 ft]) landfast sea ice along the northern coastline of Ellesmere Island, lost 600 km (370 mi) of ice in a massive calving in 1961–1962.^[11] It further decreased by 27% in thickness (13 m, 43 ft) between 1967 and 1999.^[12] The breakup of the Ellesmere ice shelves has continued in the 21st century: the Ward Ice Shelf experienced a major breakup during summer 2002;^[13] the Ayles Ice Shelf calved entirely on August 13, 2005—the largest break-off of the ice shelf in 25 years, it may pose a threat to the oil industry in theBeaufort Sea (the piece is 66 km² [25 sq mi]).^[14]

TheBarnes icecap is found in the central part of the Baffin Island and has been in retreat since at least the early 1960s when the Geographical Branch of the then Department of Mines & Technical Surveys sent a three-man survey team to the area to measure isostatic rebound and cross-valley features of theIsortoq River.

Nearly 75% of the land within this ecoregion is exposed bedrock or ice. The majority of the water is locked up in frozen ice and snow, therefore there are very few named rivers or other bodies of water within this region. The annual amount precipitation is about 200 mm, which usually falls down as snow or ice. Huge ice caps dominate the landscape, and they spawn large glaciers that are pushed down steep fjords and into the sea. When the temperature gets above freezing for an extended period time a little amount of runoff is created, which is generally under 200 mm annually.^[15]

The northern portion of the Arctic Cordillera was uplifted during theInnuitian orogeny when theNorth American Plate moved northward during the mid-Mesozoic. It containsigneous andmetamorphic rocks, but for the most part is composed ofsedimentary rocks. Mountains on Axel Heiberg Island consist mainly of longridges of folded mid-Mesozoic andPalaeozoicstrata with minor igneousintrusions.

The Arctic Cordillera is younger than theAppalachians, and so erosion has not had time to reduce it to roundedhills. The mountains are also barren because trees can neither survive the extremely cold winter temperatures, nor grow during the short summers. Vast areas are covered by permanent ice and snow. The Arctic Cordillera resembles the Appalachians in composition and contain similar types ofminerals. The mineral resources have not been greatly exploited, however, because the region's remote location makes development too costly when cheaper alternatives exist further south.

Mountains on southeastern Ellesmere Island are principally made ofgraniticgneiss, magmatic, undifferentiated intrusive and volcanic rocks. They are typified by being highlyeroded, with conspicuous deep vertical fissures and narrow ledges.

The Arctic Cordillera form the eastern edge of the Canadian Shield, which covers much of Canada's landscape.^{[citation needed]}Precambrian rock is the major component of thebedrock.

The Arctic Cordillera is dominated by vast mountain ranges stretching for thousands of miles, virtually untouched by man. These mountains were formed millions of years ago during the mid-Mesozoic when theNorth American Plate moved northward, pushing earth and rock upwards. The mountains of the north contain metamorphic and igneous rock, and are predominantly sedimentary rock. On the other hand, the southern mountains are greater, composed of granite gneiss and magmatic volcanic rock. These mountains are characterized as being highly erodible with very steep and jagged cliffs with narrow ledges. The highest peak in the Arctic Cordillera mountain range isBarbeau Peak – standing almost nine thousand feet tall. In general, the Arctic Cordillera Mountain Range is most similar (in composition and age) to theAppalachian Mountain Range of the United States. However, as the Appalachian Mountains are slightly older, their cliffs have been eroded, and are less jagged than those of the Arctic Cordillera.This ecoregion is also home to very limited amounts of exposed soil. Only in extremely sheltered places – such as that of caves – is surface soil present. The remaining soil is hidden beneath deep snow and ice, and is kept in a constant state of permafrost.^[16]

Mountains ofvolcanic rock range in age from 1.2 billion to 65 million years old.^[17] TheLate CretaceousEllesmere Island Volcanics has been uncertainly associated to both the early volcanic activity of theIceland hotspot and theAlpha Ridge. Even though these volcanics are about 90 million years old, the volcanoes andcinder can still be seen.^[18]

The Late CretaceousStrand Fiord Formation is interpreted to represent the craton-ward extension of the Alpha Ridge, a volcanic ridge that was active during the formation of theAmerasian Basin. The formation is part of the thick Sverdrup Basin succession and immediately precedes the final basin foundering event. The Strand Fiord volcanics are encased in marine strata and thin southward from a maximum thickness of more than 789 m (2,589 ft) on northwestern Axel Heiberg to a zero edge near the southern shore of the island.Tholeiiticicelanditebasalt flows are the main constituent of the formation with pyroclastic conglomerates,sandstones,mudrocks and rare coal seams also present. The lava flows range in thickness from 6 to 60 m (20 to 197 ft) and subaerial flows predominate. Both pahoehoe and aalava types are common and the volcanic pile accumulated mostly by the quieteffusion of lavas. Thepyroclasticlithologies become more common near the southern and eastern edges of the formation and representlahars and beach to shallow marine reworked deposits. The formation containsflood basalts, which are found on western Axel Heiberg Island atDragon Cliff, 300 m (980 ft) tall. It contains columnar jointing units that are usually 1 to 3 m (3 ft 3 in to 9 ft 10 in) in diameter.

TheBravo Lake Formation in central Baffin Island is a rare alkaline suite that formed as a result of submarinerifting during thePaleoproterozoic period.^[19] The lavas of thevolcanic belt display geochemical characteristics similar to modern ocean-island-basalt groups. The range from moderately to intensely fractionated. Rare-earth-element profiles are similar to those from tholeiitic basalts and extremelyalkaline lavas inHawaii.^[20]

Several ranges of the Arctic Cordillera have official names:

• Geodetic Hills
• Joy Range
• Princess Margaret Range
• Swiss Range
• White Triplets Peaks

• Baffin Mountains
• Bruce Mountains
• Everett Mountains
• Hartz Mountains
• Krag Mountains
• Precipitous Mountains

• Grogan Morgan Range
• Jeffries Range
• Scoresby Hills
• Stokes Range

• Byam Martin Mountains

• Cunningham Mountains
• Douro Range
• Grinnell Range
• Haddington Range
• Treuter Mountains

• Blackwelder Mountains
• Blue Mountains
• Boulder Hills
• British Empire Range
• Challenger Mountains
• Conger Range
• Garfield Range
• Inglefield Mountains
• Krieger Mountains
• Osborn Range
• Prince of Wales Mountains
• Sawtooth Range
• Thorndike Peaks
• United States Range
• Victoria and Albert Mountains

• Adam Range

• Torngat Mountains
  • Selamiut Range

Not much can grow in the severe environment, where killing frost can come at any time during the year and evensoil is rare. Three-quarters of the land is barerock, and evenlichen have a hard time of it. Trees are hardly noticeable. Plants that do grow in the region are mostly tiny species that often grow in thick Insulating mats to protect themselves from the cold or are covered in thick hairs that help to insulate and to protect them from the harsh wind.

Some of the plant species found are Arcticblack spruce,Arctic willow,cottongrass,crustose lichens,kobresia,moss species, woodrush, wire rush,purple saxifrage,Dryas species such asmountain avens,sedges,Diapensia lapponica,Arctic poppy,mountain sorrel, river beauty,moss campion,bilberry, andArctic white heather.

The conditions here are far too severe forreptiles andamphibians to survive;insects are also rare in the region.Muskoxen and barren-ground caribou are the only large herbivores in this environment, whilepolar bears and theArctic wolf are the only large carnivores to be found in the region. Smaller herbivores include theArctic hare and thecollared lemming.Arctic foxes andstoats are some of the smaller carnivores found in the region. Marine mammals includenarwhals,beluga whales,walrus along withringed andbearded seals.

The furry-leggedrock ptarmigan is a widespread bird in this region. Typical birds of prey include thegyrfalcon andsnowy owl. Some of the more widespread shore- and seabirds are thethick-billed murre,black-legged kittiwake,ruddy turnstone,red knot,black guillemot, widespreadringed plover,little ringed plover andnorthern fulmar.Songbirds found in the Arctic Cordillera include thehoary redpoll,common redpoll,snow bunting, andLapland longspur. Thesnow goose,common andking eider, andred-throated loon are some species ofwaterfowl that live in the region.

The Arctic Cordillera is a very high stress environment for plants to try and grow and regenerate. Vegetation is largely absent due to permanent ice and snow. Due to the extremely cold, dry climate, along with the ice-fields and lack of soil materials, the high and mid-elevations are largely devoid of significant populations of plants. In the warmer valleys at low elevations and along coastal margins, the plant cover is more extensive, consisting of herbaceous and shrub-type communities. Stream-banks and coastlines are the most biologically productive areas here. The plants in this region have a history of being survivors and stress tolerant to high winds, low temperatures, few available macronutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Plants have adaptations such as fluffy seed masses, staying low to the ground, and use of other plant masses for extra insulation.^[21]

Due to the harsh environments and extremely low temperatures that encompass the Arctic Cordillera, there is not a large variety of plants and animals that are able to survive and exist as a population. However, some animal species, both herbivores and carnivores, are able to survive the extreme weather and terrain. Among these animals arewolves,polar bears,Arctic foxes,musk-oxen, andcaribou. For the most part, the large carnivores are the dominant species in the ecoregion, mainly the polar bear. It is the keystone species for the area due to many of its habits, including its diet and hunting strategies. In addition, the life history of the 22,000 polar bears in the Arctic clearly defines its current existence in the Arctic Cordillera.^[22]

The large carnivorous species defines the ecoregion due to its intimate relationship with the ice as well as its extremely intelligent hunting tactics.^[23] No other predatory animal defines the Arctic Cordillera as well as the large white polar bear and that is why when people think about arctic animals, they think about the polar bear. As long as the polar bear exists, it will be the keystone species of the Arctic Cordillera. However, this existence relies solely on the degree of ice melt that is encountered in the future.^[24]

Thepolar bear is one of the most notably affected species in the Arctic Cordillera, mainly due to their heavy reliance on arctic ice for hunting and bedding grounds. Habitat loss, caused by global warming, has led to many dangerous behavioural changes including a new behaviour called long swims. These are swims lasting as long as ten days performed by mother bears to attempt to find food for their cubs, which generally lead to the death of the cub.^[25] Because of their stature and aggressiveness, direct conservation practices are not very useful to the polar bear. Instead, scientific observation to better understand these animals is the largest form of traditional conservation.^[26]

TheArctic black spruce is an example of a plant native to the Arctic Cordillera that is considered to be in ecological decline. The black spruce is a species of least concern because of habitat loss and deforestation from thespruce budworm moth.^[27] In the Arctic Cordillera however, the black spruce population is in good health, and is slowly gaining habitat through the retreat of polar ice.^[28]

Another species that is of great importance to this ecoregion is the endangeredBowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Five total stocks of this species exist in the region within the arctic oceans and adjacent seas: theSpitsbergen stock, Baffin Bay/Davis Strait, stock and Hudson Bay/Foxe Basin Stock,Sea of Okhotsk Stock, and the Bering/Chukchi/Beaufort Stock. Historically, these whales have served as a cultural icon, and an important source of food and fuel to the Inuit. At this point in time,^[when?] their populations were estimated between 30,000 and 50,000 individuals.

However, with the expansion of commercial whaling in the 16th and 17th century, this species was exploited to dangerously low numbers. Commercial hunting of bowheads was officially ended in 1921, when moratoria were established to protect the remaining 3,000 individuals left in the wild.^[29]

Today, those same moratoria are still in effect, but the Bowhead population has been reinstated to a manageable population of between 7,000 and 10,000 individuals. Nonetheless, these whales have been (and remain) on theIUCN Red List since 1984.^[30] One of the most important conservation efforts for this species is "legal" protection by theInternational Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which came into force in 1935. This convention was further strengthened and ratified by Canada in 1977 to support theInternational Whaling Commission’s (IWC) recommendation for full protection of the bowhead whale.^[31] Further conservation efforts have involved more physically demanding solutions, including the recommended funding of specialized technical machines that have the capability to remove debris that commonly kills these whales due to entanglement and accidental indigestion.^[30]

The Arctic Cordillera has one of Canada's most inhospitable climates. The weather is generally very cold and dry with a few weeks of sun and rain in the summer. Snow is the most common form of precipitation in the Cordillera. The region only gets 20−60 centimeters of precipitation annually. The temperature in this ecoregion averages around 4 degrees Celsius during the summer. Winter is very dark and long, when temperatures average at −35 °C (−31 °F), although it is somewhat milder and more humid in its southernmost portions. Apolar cell is a system of winds that influence the climate of the Cordillera. It is made up of theWesterlies, which are winds that blow warm air east to west from 30 to 60 degrees latitude up to the poles, and thePolar Easterlies, which blow cold air back south where it will repeat the process.^[32]

It was not always as cold as it is today.Tree stumps were discovered in 1985 onAxel Heiberg Island dating back 40 million years, indicating this northerly part of the cordillera was warmer and wetter than its present-day climate, with much morebiodiversity.^[33]

Only about 2,600 people live in the region, found primarily in the communities ofClyde River,Qikiqtarjuaq (formerly known as Broughton Island), andPond Inlet. These communities are rather small, with the populations being 820, 473 and 1,315 respectively in 2006.^[34] Most of the people who live in the region survive byhunting,fishing, andtrapping.

The Arctic Cordillera is a cold, harsh environment making plant life and animal-life sparse; even soil is rare in this ecoregion. Moss,cottongrass, andArctic heather are examples of plant life that can be found in valleys. Meanwhile, polar bears, seals, and walruses roam the shores and survive off the thriving marine ecosystem.^[35] Fish, clams, and shrimp are just a few of the resources the local Inuit communities ofNunavut use in the highly productive waters to support their economy. Nunavut's government is also investing in exploration of mineral resources;Breakwater Resources, for example, hasNanisivik Mine, a zinc-lead mine inArctic Bay that just reopened in April 2003 after closing the year before due to declining resources.^[36]Climate change is the strongest human influence in the Arctic Cordillera. Rising temperatures in the Arctic are causing ice shelves, and the habitats they provide, to shrink from year to year. Researchers of global warming also express concern for the economic, political, and social consequences of the resulting decline in fisheries stocks expected because of the changing climate.^[37]

• List of mountain ranges
• Geography of Nunavut
• Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Geography of Canada
• Ledoyom (Ice body)

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