Cumberland Sound
| Cumberland Sound | |
|---|---|
 Cumberland Sound, a part of the Labrador Sea, between Cumberland Peninsula and Hall Peninsula. | |
  Cumberland Sound  Cumberland Sound | |
| Location | Labrador Sea |
| Coordinates | 65°13′N 065°45′W / 65.217°N 65.750°WCoordinates: 65°13′N 065°45′W / 65.217°N 65.750°W |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Settlements | Pangnirtung |
Cumberland Sound (French: Baie Cumberland; Inuit: Kangiqtualuk)[1] is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is a western arm of the Labrador Sea located between Baffin Island's Hall Peninsula and the Cumberland Peninsula. It is approximately 250 km (160 mi) long and 80 km (50 mi) wide. Other names are Cumberland Straits, Hogarth Sound, and Northumberland Inlet.[2] Old Norse is ᚠᛁᛋᚦᚱᛁ ᚢᛒᚢᚴᚦᛁᛦ, fisþri ubukþiR.[citation needed]
Small islands litter the stretch of water which was formed from glacial activity and meltwater produced from the receding glacier.[citation needed]
The only settlement located on the shore of the sound on the Cumberland Peninsula is Pangnirtung.
John Davis, the English explorer, went part way up the sound in 1585. After that it was unvisited by Europeans until 1839, when the British whaler and explorer William Penny persuaded Eenoolooapik (brother of interpreter and guide Taqulittuq) to show him the inland sea. The Inuk had described the sound, known to him as Tenudiackbeek, as full of whales, and soon the British set up a whaling station there.[3]
Fauna[edit]
The bay is home to the Cumberland Sound beluga whale, a species known to reside year-round in the sound, with summers spent at the northern end. As well as ringed, bearded, harp, harbour and hooded seals, there are Arctic char, Greenland halibut, and other fish. Birds such as gulls, ducks, and geese also migrate and spend the spring and summer in Cumberland Sound, and ptarmigan and ravens remain year-round.
References[edit]
- ^ Shelagh Grant. Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923. McGill-Queen's Press, 2005
- ^ Kumlien, Ludwig (1879). Contributions to the natural history of Arctic America: made in connection with the Howgate Polar Expedition, 1877-78 (Digitized October 3, 2008 ed.). Govt. Printing Office. p. 11.
- ^ "Eenoolooapik | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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