Inhabited island in the Northwest Territories, Canada
This article is about the island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. For the island in British Columbia, seeBanks Island (British Columbia). For the group of islands in northern Vanuatu, seeBanks Islands.
Banks Island
These moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer images from June 14 and 16, 2002, show Banks Island (centre left) and the larger Victoria Island (to the immediate southeast)
It is home to at least fourteen mammal species including thePeary caribou,barren-ground caribou, andpolar bears. At one time over 68,000muskoxen lived on the island, the majority of the world's population. However, the bacteriumErysipelothrix rhusiopathiae has led to a sharp decline in their numbers. The island is the summer home to hundreds of thousands of migratory birds who nest at Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 1 and Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 2.[3][4]
Closer look at Banks IslandTopography of Banks Island
Pre-Dorset cultural sites have been found that date from approximately 1500 BCE but European contact came much later. In 1820 it was seen fromMelville Island by SirWilliam Edward Parry and named "Banks Land" in honour of SirJoseph Banks. However, during the later exploration of the area by theMcClure Arctic expedition the island was marked on their maps as "Baring Island".[5] McClure's ship,HMS Investigator, was frozen in Prince of Wales Strait. That spring he sent out sledging parties and determined that Banks Island was an island. In the following year he almost circumnavigated the island but was again frozen in atMercy Bay where he and his crew spent the next three months before making their escape across the ice.[6]
The only permanent settlement on the island is theInuvialuit hamlet ofSachs Harbour (Ikahuak), on the southwest coast.
Banks Island covers an area 70,028 km2 (27,038 sq mi) and it is theworld's 24th largest island andCanada's fifth largest island. It is about 380 km (240 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 and rises to about 730 m (2,400 ft).[7]
The island is treeless, with the tallest plant, theArctic willow, growing occasionally to about the height of a person's knee but usually standing no taller than 10 cm (3.9 in).
Banks Island is home to a large colony of lessersnow geese, which make their way across theAmundsen Gulf from the mainland. There is an annual goose hunt in the spring out of Sachs Harbour. The island is part of thetundra worldbiome, which has extremely cold winters. The island is home tobarren-ground caribou,polar bears,muskoxen, and birds, including year round residents thecommon raven andptarmigan.
Aulavik National Park of Canada, a fly-in park, protects about 12,274 km2 (4,739 sq mi) ofArctic lowlands at the northern end of the island.[8] The park has the highest concentration of muskoxen on earth, and is home to the endangeredPeary caribou.[8] TheThomsen River runs through the park, and is one of the northernmost navigable rivers (by canoe) in North America.[8]Ptarmigan andravens are considered the only year-round birds in the park, although 43 species make seasonal use of the area. InInuvialuktun,Aulavik means "place where people travel" and the "wildlife and land have supported aboriginal peoples for more than 3,400 years, fromPre-Dorset cultures to contemporaryInuvialuit."[8]
The first confirmedgrizzly–polar bear hybrid found in the wild was shot on Banks Island in April 2006, near Sachs Harbour.[9]
Banks Island has atundra climate (KöppenET) typical of theCanadian Arctic with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Since the activities of many residents of the community revolve around fishing, hunting, and travel, they have considerable knowledge of weather conditions,permafrost, and evenerosion patterns.
Gajewski, K; Mott, R; Ritchie, J; Hadden, K (April 2000). "Holocene Vegetation History of Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada".Canadian Journal of Botany.78 (4):430–436.doi:10.1139/b00-018.
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.
Stephenson, S.A. (2010). Fishes of the Thomsen River, Banks Island, Northwest Territories. Canada (Report). Canadian manuscript report of fisheries and aquatic sciences. 0706-6473 No. 2944.
