Dolphin and Union Strait lies in both theNorthwest Territories (Inuvik Region) andNunavut (Kitikmeot Region), Canada, between the mainland andVictoria Island. It is part of theNorthwest Passage. It linksAmundsen Gulf, lying to the northwest, withCoronation Gulf, lying to the southeast. The southeastern end of the strait is marked byAustin Bay. It gets its name from the two boats used by the Scottish naval surgeon and explorerJohn Richardson, who was the first known European to explore it in 1826.
TheInuit who use this area have been variously known as theCopper Inuit, the Copper Eskimos, or the "People at the end of the world," because few otherIndigenous groups had continuously used the area before. This is partly why the first Europeans who ventured into this area, were amazed by the"blond" Inuit they had encountered.
There are several islands within the strait, including the Liston andSutton Islands, historically home to the Noahonirmiut band of Copper Inuit.[1]
The strait is about 161 km (100 mi) long and ranges from 32 to 64 km (20 to 40 mi) in width. When frozen, it is used bybarren-ground caribou, known as theDolphin and Union herd, to reach Victoria Island for the summer and to return to the mainland for the winter.Eider ducks are also found in the strait.
Thecaribou are known locally astuktu which is understood across the circumpolar world. Conversely,eider ducks are calledkingalik which means, simply, "big-nose".
In recent decades, the localInuvialuit have seen the reduction in average winter sea-ice thickness from roughly 1.8 to 2.1 m (6 to 7 ft) in the early 1960s to about 110 to 120 cm (43 to 47 in) even in the dead of winter today. There is also a preponderance of new species from flies to wasps, and new birds arriving that have never been seen before;grizzly bears roam where they were once that most rare curiosity.
69°05′10″N116°02′30″W / 69.08611°N 116.04167°W /69.08611; -116.04167 (Dolphin and Union Strait)
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