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Lancaster Sound
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Lancaster Sound
Lancaster Sound (Inuktitut: ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᐃᒪᖓ, romanized: Tallurutiup Imanga) is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern entrance to the Parry Channel and the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay; to the west lies Viscount Melville Sound. Further west, a traveller would enter the M'Clure Strait before heading into the Arctic Ocean.
The Inuit and their predecessors in the region, the Paleo-Eskimos, have relied for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, on the sound's abundant natural wealth for food, clothing and shelter. Today, residents of the three Nunavut communities of Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay, and Resolute continue this tradition, depending on their waters for their economic and cultural well-being.
Lancaster Sound was named in 1616 by explorer William Baffin for Sir James Lancaster, one of the three main financial supporters of his exploratory expeditions. The abortive expedition by the British explorer John Ross in 1818 ended when he saw what he believed were mountains blocking the end of Lancaster Sound. In 1819, William Edward Parry navigated through it and went as far west as Melville Island. The sound was thoroughly explored during an extensive aerial mapping program of Northern Canada by the Canadian Government, which took place from the 1930s until the late 1950s to complete. Coincidentally, the type of aircraft used to complete the mapping program was the Avro Lancaster, a World War II heavy bomber which had been converted for mapping.
Ice cover, including both land-fast ice and pack ice, is common for nine months of the year. A shore lead system ensures the presence of ice-free water areas.
Wildlife is rich and varied, with an immense amount of Arctic cod (30,000 tons worth) known to exist there. The Arctic cod is also part of the diet for many of the birds in Lancaster Sound and marine mammals. Many narwhal, beluga, bowhead whales, ringed, bearded and harp seals, walruses, polar bears, thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, black guillemots, Arctic terns, ivory gulls, and snow geese all occupy the area.
In 1968, exploratory permits were granted for 14 million acres of Canada's Arctic waters, including Lancaster Sound. In 1974, Norlands Petroleum Ltd was given approval-in-principle to drill an exploratory well in the middle of Lancaster Sound. Community opposition led to the creation of an Environmental Assessment Review Panel that recommended in 1978 that Norlands' proposal not be allowed until the company could explain how exploratory drilling was compatible with current and future uses in Lancaster Sound.
This area was not yet represented in the Canadian National Marine Conservation Areas system, despite an attempt to do so at the request of local Inuit in 1987. A preliminary Minerals and Energy Resource Assessment to create a National Marine Park was completed in 1989, but nothing came of this.
On December 8, 2009, Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced a $5 million feasibility study for a new National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in Lancaster Sound.
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Lancaster Sound
Lancaster Sound (Inuktitut: ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᐃᒪᖓ, romanized: Tallurutiup Imanga) is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern entrance to the Parry Channel and the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay; to the west lies Viscount Melville Sound. Further west, a traveller would enter the M'Clure Strait before heading into the Arctic Ocean.
The Inuit and their predecessors in the region, the Paleo-Eskimos, have relied for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, on the sound's abundant natural wealth for food, clothing and shelter. Today, residents of the three Nunavut communities of Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay, and Resolute continue this tradition, depending on their waters for their economic and cultural well-being.
Lancaster Sound was named in 1616 by explorer William Baffin for Sir James Lancaster, one of the three main financial supporters of his exploratory expeditions. The abortive expedition by the British explorer John Ross in 1818 ended when he saw what he believed were mountains blocking the end of Lancaster Sound. In 1819, William Edward Parry navigated through it and went as far west as Melville Island. The sound was thoroughly explored during an extensive aerial mapping program of Northern Canada by the Canadian Government, which took place from the 1930s until the late 1950s to complete. Coincidentally, the type of aircraft used to complete the mapping program was the Avro Lancaster, a World War II heavy bomber which had been converted for mapping.
Ice cover, including both land-fast ice and pack ice, is common for nine months of the year. A shore lead system ensures the presence of ice-free water areas.
Wildlife is rich and varied, with an immense amount of Arctic cod (30,000 tons worth) known to exist there. The Arctic cod is also part of the diet for many of the birds in Lancaster Sound and marine mammals. Many narwhal, beluga, bowhead whales, ringed, bearded and harp seals, walruses, polar bears, thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, black guillemots, Arctic terns, ivory gulls, and snow geese all occupy the area.
In 1968, exploratory permits were granted for 14 million acres of Canada's Arctic waters, including Lancaster Sound. In 1974, Norlands Petroleum Ltd was given approval-in-principle to drill an exploratory well in the middle of Lancaster Sound. Community opposition led to the creation of an Environmental Assessment Review Panel that recommended in 1978 that Norlands' proposal not be allowed until the company could explain how exploratory drilling was compatible with current and future uses in Lancaster Sound.
This area was not yet represented in the Canadian National Marine Conservation Areas system, despite an attempt to do so at the request of local Inuit in 1987. A preliminary Minerals and Energy Resource Assessment to create a National Marine Park was completed in 1989, but nothing came of this.
On December 8, 2009, Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced a $5 million feasibility study for a new National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in Lancaster Sound.