Native name: ᓴᓪᓚᔪᒐᐃᑦ Sanikiluaq | |
|---|---|
 Belcher Islands, Nunavut (red). | |
  Belcher Islands  Belcher Islands | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Hudson Bay |
| Coordinates | 56°11′N79°15′W / 56.183°N 79.250°W /56.183; -79.250[1] |
| Archipelago | Belcher Islands Archipelago |
| Total islands | 1,500 |
| Major islands | Flaherty Island,Kugong Island,Tukarak Island,Innetalling Island |
| Area | 2,896 km2 (1,118 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 882 (2016) |
| Pop. density | 0.30/km2 (0.78/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Inuit |
TheBelcher Islands (Inuktitut:ᓴᓪᓚᔪᒐᐃᑦ,romanized: Sanikiluaq)[2] are anarchipelago in the southeast part ofHudson Bay near the centre of theNastapoka arc. The Belcher Islands are spread out over almost 3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi). Administratively, they belong to theQikiqtaaluk Region ofNunavut, Canada. The hamlet ofSanikiluaq (where the majority of the inhabitants of the Belcher Islands live) is on the north coast ofFlaherty Island and is the southernmost in Nunavut. Along with Flaherty Island, the other large islands areKugong Island,Tukarak Island, andInnetalling Island.[3] Other main islands in the 1,500-island archipelago areMoore Island, Wiegand Island, Split Island, Snape Island, and Mavor Island, while island groups include the Sleeper Islands, King George Islands, and Bakers Dozen Islands.[4]
The archaeological evidence present on the islands indicates that they were inhabited by theDorset culture between 500 BCE and 1000 CE. Centuries later, from 1200 to 1500, theThule people made their presence on the islands.[5]
The first European to encounter the islands was English sea explorerHenry Hudson, the namesake ofHudson Bay, who sighted the islands in 1610.[6] In 1670, the islands and the entirety ofHudson Bay drainage basin were designated by the English king,Charles II, asRupert's Land, managed by theHudson's Bay Company. The islands are named afterRoyal Navy Admiral SirEdward Belcher (1799–1877).
In the early 19th century,caribou herds which lived on the islands disappeared. In an alternative effort to find warm clothing, the inhabitants of the islands sought thedown ofeider ducks, seaducks who nest on the island.[5] In 1870, Rupert's Land was ceded to theNorthwest Territories.
Before 1914, English-speaking cartographers knew very little about the Belcher Islands, which they showed on maps as specks, much smaller than their true extent. In that year a map showing them, drawn by George Weetaltuk,[7] came into the hands ofRobert Flaherty, and cartographers began to represent them more accurately.[8]
In 1941, a religious movement led by Charley Ouyerack, Peter Sala, and his sister Mina caused the death by blows orexposure of nine persons, an occurrence that came to be known as the Belcher Island Murders.[9][10]
In 1999, when Nunavut was separated from Northwest Territories, the Belcher Islands were included within Nunavut, along with most islands in Hudson Bay.
The geologic units of the Belcher Group, which forms the Belcher Islands, were deposited during thePaleoproterozoic. Combined with other Paleoproterozoic units that occur along the edge of theSuperior Craton, the Belcher Group forms part of theCircum-Superior Belt.[11]
From youngest to oldest, the Belcher Group is composed of:[12][13]
The oldest part of the Belcher Group, the Kasegalik Formation, was deposited between 2.0185 and 2.0154 billion years ago.[14] The Kasegalik Formation also contains the oldest unambiguousCyanobacteria microfossils.[15] Much of the Belcher Group strata were deposited under intertidal to shallow-water conditions, although the Mavor Formation formed a platform margin stromatolite reef complex,[16] and the overlying Costello and Laddie formations represent slope and deep basin deposits, respectively.[14][16] The Kipalu Formation, deposited approximately 1.88 billion years ago, is notable for being a granulariron formation.[12][13] The Flaherty Formation basalt that composes much of the Belcher Islands was deposited between 1.87 and 1.854 billion years ago,[14] with the overlying Omarolluk and Loaf formations being deposited from 1.854 billion years ago until sometime after 1.83 billion years ago.[14][17]
The occurrence of very high-qualitysoapstone in the Belcher Islands supports a locally significant carving industry.[18] These soapstone occurrences formed when sedimentary rocks of the Belcher Group wereintruded by Haig sills and dykes approximately 1.87 billion years ago.[18] Most soapstone is quarried from a site on western Tukarak Island where dolomite of the Costello Formation wasintruded by hotmagma,[18] withdolomite reacting withquartz andwater under intense heat to formtalc,calcite, andcarbon dioxide:
3CaMg(CO3)2 + 4SiO2 + H2O → [Heat] Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 + 3CaCO3 + 3CO2
Other minerals within the soapstone are largelycalcite,dolomite,talc, andclinochlore, with minor amounts ofilmenite.
Although most soapstone has been sourced from two quarries, the relatively widespread occurrence of Haig intrusions within the Belcher Islands suggests that there may be many more possible sources of high-quality soapstone not yet discovered.[19]
Several species of willow (Salix) form a large component of the native small shrubbery on the archipelago. These include rock willow (Salix vestita), bog willow (S. pedicellaris), and Labrador willow (S. argyrocarpa), as well as naturally occurringhybrids betweenS. arctica andS. glauca.[20] Trees cannot grow on the islands because of a lack of adequate soil.[21]
The main wildlife consists ofbelugas,walrus,caribou,common eiders andsnowy owls all of which can be seen on the island year round. There is also a wide variety offish that can be caught such asArctic char,cod,capelin,lump fish, andsculpin.[22] The historical relationship between theSanikiluaq community and the eider is the subject of a feature-length Canadian documentary film calledPeople of a Feather. The director, cinematographer and biologist Joel Heath, spent seven years on the project, writing biological articles on the eider.[23][24]
In 1998, the Belcher Island caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd numbered 800.[25]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
