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Bylot Island

Coordinates:73°16′N78°30′W/ 73.267°N 78.500°W/73.267; -78.500(Bylot Island)
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Bylot
July 2012 NASA satellite photograph of Bylot Island
Bylot is located in Nunavut
Bylot
Bylot
Bylot is located in Canada
Bylot
Bylot
Geography
LocationLancaster Sound
Coordinates73°16′N78°30′W/ 73.267°N 78.500°W/73.267; -78.500(Bylot Island)
ArchipelagoArctic Archipelago
Area11,067 km2(4,273 sq mi)
Area rank72nd
Highest elevation1,951 m (6401 ft)
Highest pointAngilaaq Mountain
Administration
Canada
TerritoryNunavut
RegionQikiqtaaluk
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

Bylot Island[pronunciation?]lies off the northern end ofBaffin IslandinNunavutTerritory, Canada.Eclipse Soundto the southeast andNavy Board Inletto the southwest separate it from Baffin Island.Parry Channellies to its northwest. At 11,067 km2(4,273 sq mi) it is ranked71st largest island in the worldandCanada's 17th largest island.The island measures 180 km (110 mi) east to west and 110 km (68 mi) north to south and is one of the largestuninhabited islandsin the world. While there are no permanent settlements on thisCanadian Arctic island,InuitfromPond Inletand elsewhere regularly travel to Bylot Island. An Inuit seasonal hunting camp is located southwest ofCape Graham Moore.

The island'smountainsare part of theByam Martin Mountains,which is part of theBaffin Mountainsof theArctic Cordillera.In addition toAngilaaq Mountain,Malik Mountain,Mount St. Hans,andMount Thuleare notable. Tay Bay is on the west coast. Vertical cliffs along the coastline are made up ofPrecambriandolomite.There are numerous glaciers. The western shore faces Navy Board Inlet. The island's north shore, facingLancaster Sound,is apolar bearmaternity den area.[1]Beluga,bowhead whale,harp seal,narwhal,andringed sealfrequent the area.

The island is named for theArcticexplorerRobert Bylot,who was the firstEuropeanto sight it in 1616.[2]The whaling captain William Adams was the first to prove the island's insular nature in 1872.[3]

In the 2000s, Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation, began to develop atote roadfrom its Mary River Mine, and harbour infrastructure inMilne Bay—a small, shallow arm of at the confluence of Eclipse Sound and Navy Board Inlet which separates Bylot Island fromBaffin Island.[4][5]Milne Inlet flows in a southerly direction from Navy Board Inlet at the confluence of Eclipse Sound.

Protected areas[edit]

Almost all of the island is located withinSirmilik National Park,harbouring large populations ofthick-billed murres,black-legged kittiwakesandgreater snow geese.The eastern area of the island is federally designated as theBylot Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary.[6]Three areas are classified as CanadianImportant Bird Areas:Cape Graham Moore,Cape Hay,and theSouthwest Bylot plain.[1][7][8]

Cultural references[edit]

In 2010, a painting of Bylot Island titled "Bylot Island I" byLawren Harris,one of theGroup of Sevenmid-century Canadian artists, was sold at auction for $2.8 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a work by aCanadianartist.[9]

"The Mothership", a 5 km-wide (3-mile) wide terminal lobe of a glacier flowing down from the interior ice cap on top of the Byam Martin Mountains. Note the dramaticterminal moraine"bulldozed" at the ice front.

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Cape Hay".bsc-eoc.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-12.Retrieved2009-04-23.
  2. ^Markham, Clements (1881).The voyages of William Baffin, 1612-1622.London: Hakluyt Society.William Baffin.
  3. ^Mills, William James (2003).Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia.Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
  4. ^Klein, Greg (November 8, 2015)."Baffinland Iron Mines sets high Arctic high volume shipping record".Resource clips.RetrievedNovember 10,2015.
  5. ^Gedeon, Julie (March 2, 2009)."Floating wharf gets around lack of Arctic infrastructure".Canadian Sailings.Arctic Shipping Special Report. Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2010.
  6. ^"NU site 23 - Cape Graham Moore"(PDF).ngps.nt.ca.Retrieved2009-04-23.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^"Southwest Bylot".birdscanada.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-25.Retrieved2009-09-08.
  8. ^"NU068".bsc-eoc.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-12.Retrieved2009-04-23.
  9. ^"Lawren Harris painting sells for $2.8-million".www.theglobeandmail.com.Retrieved2010-05-27.

Further reading[edit]

  • Audet, Benoît; Gauthier, Gilles; and Lévesque, Esther (2007); "Feeding Ecology of Greater Snow Goose Goslings in Mesic Tundra on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada",The Condor.109, no. 2: 361
  • Drury, W. H.; and Drury, Mary B.;The Bylot Island Expedition,[Lincoln, Mass.]: Massachusetts Audubon Society, 1955
  • Falconer, G.;Glaciers of Northern Baffin and Bylot Islands, NWT,Ottawa: Geographical Branch, Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys, 1962
  • Fortier, Daniel; Allard, Michel; and Shur, Yuri (2007); "Observation of Rapid Drainage System Development by Thermal Erosion of Ice Wedges on Bylot Island, Arctic Archipelago",Permafrost and Periglacial Processes,18, no. 3: 229
  • Hofmann, H. J.; and Jackson, G. D.;Shale-Facies Microfossils from the Proterozoic Bylot Supergroup, Baffin Island, Canada.[Tulsa, OK]:Paleontological Society,1994
  • Klassen, R. A.;Quaternary Geology and Glacial History of Bylot Island, Northwest Territories,Ottawa, Canada:Geological Survey of Canada,1993,ISBN0-660-14989-3
  • Scherman, Katharine(1956);Spring on an Arctic Island.Travel literature of a research trip to Bylot Island in 1954.
  • Tilman, W. H.(1966);Mostly Mischief.An account of a crossing of Bylot Island in 1963.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBylot Island.
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