Whale Cove ᑎᑭᕋᕐᔪᐊᖅ Tikirarjuaq | |
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  Whale Cove  Whale Cove | |
| Coordinates:62°10′15″N092°34′40″W / 62.17083°N 92.57778°W /62.17083; -92.57778[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Kivalliq |
| Electoral district | Arviat North-Whale Cove |
| Government | |
| • Type | Hamlet Council |
| • Mayor | Oliver Shipton |
| • Senior Administrative Officer | Brian Fleming |
| • MLA | John Main |
| Area (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 273.89 km2 (105.75 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 470 |
| • Density | 1.7/km2 (4.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| Canadian Postal code | |
| Area code | 867 |
| Website | http://www.whalecove.ca/ |
Whale Cove (ᑎᑭᕋᕐᔪᐊᖅ inInuktitut syllabics) (Tikirarjuaq, meaning "long point"), is ahamlet in theKivalliq Region,Nunavut, Canada, on the western shore ofHudson Bay. It is located 74 km (46 mi) south southwest ofRankin Inlet and 145 km (90 mi) northeast ofArviat.
The community is named for the manybeluga whales which congregate off the coast. Many of the inhabitants hunt these whales every fall and use their by-products for their oil and food. Whale Cove, initially settled by three distinct Inuit groups (one inland and two coastal), is a relatively traditional community: 95%Inuit,[6] who wear fur, hunt, fish, eat raw meat and fish. Severalbowhead whales may appear in the area as well.[7] Whale Cove is on thepolar bear migration route.
Local Inuit regularly travel bysnowmobile in the winter or by boat in summer months between the hamlet of Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove, a distance of 100 km (62 mi). The terrain is Arctictundra, this consists mostly of rocks, mosses and lichens.
Inuit in the Whale Cove area traded whale oil, baleen, furs, leather and walrus tusks with theHudson's Bay Company (HBC) since the mid-18th century when the HBC established their trading post atChurchill,Manitoba.[8]
In the 1950s and 1960s Inuit were relocated in a series of moves from one hamlet to another, some of them arriving in Whale Cove, a hamlet created by the federal government for these Inuit groups. Some came fromEnnadai Lake viaArviat to Whale Cove, other came fromBack River viaGarry Lake then theBaker Lake area to Whale Cove. By the 1970s Inuit living in Whale Cove represented both coastal Inuit from Rankin Inlet and Arviat and differentCaribou Inuit, hunters ofbarren-ground caribou from the Barren Grounds west ofHudson Bay, including theAhiarmiut ("the out-of-the-way dwellers") or Ihalmiut ("people from beyond"), or on the banks of theKazan River, Ennadai Lake, LittleDubawnt Lake (Kamilikuak), and north ofKugjuaq (officiallyThlewiaza;[9] "Big River"), had been relocated in the 1950s Whale Cove andHenik Lake.[10][11][12][13][14] by the Department of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources (nowCrown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada). Their hunting experience was based almost entirely on "inland caribou herds that had thinned by the 1950s and left many families hungry. Coastal dwelling Inuit from Rankin Inlet and Arviat were relocated to Whale Cove from nearby coastal communities in order to aid the inlanders in adapting to a marine subsistence economy."[15]
In the late 1960s a famine swept the land. Inuit were forced to walk towards places like Arviat to escape the desperation. Survivors who couldn't walk were airlifted to Whale Cove,Baker Lake andRankin Inlet.[16]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 179 | — |
| 1981 | 188 | +5.0% |
| 1986 | 210 | +11.7% |
| 1991 | 235 | +11.9% |
| 1996 | 301 | +28.1% |
| 2001 | 305 | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 353 | +15.7% |
| 2011 | 407 | +15.3% |
| 2016 | 435 | +6.9% |
| 2021 | 470 | +8.0% |
| Source:Statistics Canada [4][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] | ||
In the2021 Canadian census conducted byStatistics Canada, Whale Cove had a population of 470 living in 116 of its 128 total private dwellings, a change of8% from its 2016 population of 435. With a land area of 273.89 km2 (105.75 sq mi), it had a population density of1.7/km2 (4.4/sq mi) in 2021.[4]
In 1973, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (now Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) initiated the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project and anthropologist David Hoffman conducted fieldwork in Whale Cove as part of a team of experts contributing to this project.[26] The project under Milton Freeman,[27] documented the total Inuit land use area of the Northwest Territories, then stretching from theMackenzie River to eastBaffin Island, to provide information in support of the fact that Inuit have used and occupied this vast northern land since time immemorial and that they still use and occupy it to this day.
Whale Cove companies and organizations, community and government services, the Kivalliq Inuit Association,Issatik Co-op,Nunavut Arctic College,Calm Air,Nolinor Aviation,Service Canada, theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police, Sakku Development Corp., Nunavut Development Corp,Agnico Eagle,The North West Company, Kivalliq Partners in Development and ED&T. made presentations at the first Economic Development Day held at the Inuglak School gymnasium, in Whale Cove on 20 September 2011.[28]
According to the Nunavut Planning Commission Whale Cove region's potential non-renewable resources include: "gold, diamonds, uranium, base metals, and nickel-copper platinum group elements (PGEs)".[29]
The community has been served by theQiniq network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated bySSi Canada. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice. In September 2019,Bell Mobility established a data tower and provides high-speed mobile and internet connectivity within the community.Telus users will also receive coverage due to the Bell/TELUS cellular partnership.
Whale Cove features a coldsubarctic climate (Köppen:Dfc;Trewartha:Ecld), bordering closely on atundra climate; with cold winters averaging around −23 °C (−9 °F), and cool, very wet and rainy summers averaging around 7.2 °C (45.0 °F); but temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F) or above are possible. Winters run from October/November until April/May with temperatures averaging between −14.5 and −29.6 °C (5.9 and −21.3 °F). Summers run from June to September, and average temperatures range from 3.9 to 10.1 °C (39.0 to 50.2 °F). Summers are usually cool, wet, and rainy, but can be warm, with a record high of 29.0 °C (84.2 °F). Summers typically last four months.
| Climate data forWhale Cove (Whale Cove Airport) Climate ID: 2303986 coordinates62°14′24″N92°35′53″W / 62.24000°N 92.59806°W /62.24000; -92.59806 (Whale Cove Airport); elevation: 12.2 m (40 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1985-present | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | −5.9 | −6.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 14.4 | 23.3 | 28.4 | 27.5 | 21.5 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 28.4 |
| Record high °C (°F) | −2.0 (28.4) | −4.0 (24.8) | 2.0 (35.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 10.5 (50.9) | 24.0 (75.2) | 26.0 (78.8) | 29.0 (84.2) | 20.0 (68.0) | 21.0 (69.8) | 10.0 (50.0) | 0.0 (32.0) | 29.0 (84.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −26.0 (−14.8) | −25.5 (−13.9) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −10.0 (14.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | 13.8 (56.8) | 12.9 (55.2) | 6.6 (43.9) | −0.8 (30.6) | −11.7 (10.9) | −19.8 (−3.6) | −6.2 (20.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −29.6 (−21.3) | −29.1 (−20.4) | −23.8 (−10.8) | −14.5 (5.9) | −5.1 (22.8) | 3.9 (39.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 10.1 (50.2) | 4.6 (40.3) | −3.0 (26.6) | −15.3 (4.5) | −23.5 (−10.3) | −9.6 (14.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −33.2 (−27.8) | −32.7 (−26.9) | −28.2 (−18.8) | −18.8 (−1.8) | −8.3 (17.1) | 0.7 (33.3) | 6.2 (43.2) | 7.2 (45.0) | 2.5 (36.5) | −5.2 (22.6) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −27.3 (−17.1) | −13.0 (8.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −44.0 (−47.2) | −47.5 (−53.5) | −43.0 (−45.4) | −36.0 (−32.8) | −25.5 (−13.9) | −9.5 (14.9) | −3.0 (26.6) | −1.0 (30.2) | −8.0 (17.6) | −24.5 (−12.1) | −34.0 (−29.2) | −43.5 (−46.3) | −47.5 (−53.5) |
| Record lowwind chill | −63.8 | −68.9 | −61.1 | −48.4 | −34.7 | −16.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | −16.9 | −39.6 | −53.6 | −59.3 | −68.9 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 14.9 (0.59) | 9.9 (0.39) | 13.2 (0.52) | 14.6 (0.57) | 15.5 (0.61) | 24.1 (0.95) | 38.7 (1.52) | 59.6 (2.35) | 51.6 (2.03) | 29.5 (1.16) | 19.9 (0.78) | 14.7 (0.58) | 306.3 (12.06) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (0.02) | 4.6 (0.18) | 21.8 (0.86) | 38.7 (1.52) | 59.6 (2.35) | 46.7 (1.84) | 11.0 (0.43) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.0 (0.0) | 182.9 (7.20) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 15.9 (6.3) | 10.0 (3.9) | 14.0 (5.5) | 14.5 (5.7) | 10.9 (4.3) | 2.4 (0.9) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 4.9 (1.9) | 19.4 (7.6) | 20.8 (8.2) | 16.5 (6.5) | 129.4 (50.9) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 9.8 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 7.6 | 10.4 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 10.8 | 7.7 | 115.5 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.30 | 1.7 | 7.1 | 10.4 | 14.0 | 12.0 | 4.3 | 0.23 | 0.0 | 50.0 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 9.7 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 0.95 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 10.0 | 10.7 | 8.0 | 68.5 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada (humidex and wind chill 1981-2010)[30][31] | |||||||||||||
John Adjuk (1913 Back River -2006 Whale Cove) moved with his family to Whale Cove in March 1964 from theBaker Lake area. Originally from theBack River area (Chantrey Inlet) north of Baker Lake, living the traditional way of life on the land, he moved to theGarry Lake area. Following famine in the Garry Lake area, he was evacuated to Baker (Lake Qamanittuaq) in 1955. In 1955 they returned to Garry Lake but in early 1958 the family of five was evacuated to the community ofBaker Lake when famine struck the land. TheHanningajurmiut, or Hanningaruqmiut, or Hanningajulinmiut ("the people of the place that lies across") lived at Garry Lake, south of theUtkuhiksalingmiut. Many Hanningajurmiut starved in 1958 when thecaribou bypassed their traditional hunting grounds, but the 31 who survived were relocated to Baker. Most never returned permanently to Garry Lake.[32][Notes 1] In March, 1964, the Adjuk family, which now included six daughters, moved to Whale Cove because it was thought the hunting and fishing was better.[33]
Nunavut Arctic College has a branch in Whale Cove.
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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