Cape Parry
Cape Parryis aheadlandin Canada'sNorthwest Territories.Located at the northern tip of theParry Peninsula,it projects intoAmundsen Gulf.The nearest settlement isPaulatuk,100 km (62 mi) to the south, andFiji Islandis located 9 km (5.6 mi) to the west. Cape Parry was formerly accessible through Cape Parry Airport that was located at theDistant Early Warning Line.The airport was listed as abandoned after the closure of the DEW line site.[1]
It is named for the Arctic explorerWilliam Edward Parry.
History
[edit]Between the 1950s to the 1980s, a Distant Early Warning Line site (PIN-Main,70°09′01″N124°40′09″W/ 70.15028°N 124.66917°W[2]) was located south of Police Point, the cape's western point.[3]During the period of 1969 to 1982, eighteensounding rocketlaunches were made at Cape Parry.[4]
Geography
[edit]Cape Parry is a three-pointed outcrop of coastal cliffs. The limestone formation rises 20 m (66 ft)above sea level.The deeply incised coastal beaches are composed of sand and gravel, and form bays and inlets.[5]On either side of the narrow isthmus that joins Cape Parry to the Parry Peninsula are Tyne Bay to the west and Gillet Bay to the east.[3]
The Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary[6]is located here, and the coastal waters adjacent to the Cape are protected as part of theAnguniaqvia niqiqyuam Marine Protected Area.[7]
Climate
[edit]Absolute minimum temperature is −47.2 °C (−53.0 °F), while absolute maximum temperature is 23.9 °C (75.0 °F). Annual snowfall is 116.0 cm (45.7 in).[8]Although the staffedweather stationis no longer in operation there is anautomatic weather station(CZCP) at the site.[9]
| Climate data for Cape Parry | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | −1.6 | −3.5 | −1.2 | 3.4 | 10.6 | 22.1 | 26.9 | 23.0 | 18.8 | 5.0 | 2.8 | −1.8 | 26.9 |
| Record high °C (°F) | −1.0 (30.2) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
4.0 (39.2) |
11.1 (52.0) |
21.2 (70.2) |
23.9 (75.0) |
21.8 (71.2) |
18.3 (64.9) |
10.7 (51.3) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
23.9 (75.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −23.1 (−9.6) |
−24.4 (−11.9) |
−22.3 (−8.1) |
−13.7 (7.3) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
5.0 (41.0) |
9.4 (48.9) |
8.0 (46.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−16.2 (2.8) |
−20.2 (−4.4) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −26.1 (−15.0) |
−27.5 (−17.5) |
−25.5 (−13.9) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
2.3 (36.1) |
6.3 (43.3) |
5.5 (41.9) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−18.9 (−2.0) |
−23.2 (−9.8) |
−11.4 (11.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −29.1 (−20.4) |
−30.6 (−23.1) |
−28.7 (−19.7) |
−20.8 (−5.4) |
−9.9 (14.2) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
3.1 (37.6) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−21.6 (−6.9) |
−26.0 (−14.8) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −47.2 (−53.0) |
−47.2 (−53.0) |
−43.4 (−46.1) |
−38.9 (−38.0) |
−27.8 (−18.0) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−28.3 (−18.9) |
−36.7 (−34.1) |
−41.7 (−43.1) |
−47.2 (−53.0) |
| Record lowwind chill | −68.4 | −67.3 | −60.6 | −53.2 | −37.2 | −22.3 | −10.0 | −14.0 | −21.1 | −38.4 | −52.5 | −61.1 | −68.4 |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 6.7 (0.26) |
7.9 (0.31) |
5.0 (0.20) |
6.1 (0.24) |
8.0 (0.31) |
9.1 (0.36) |
24.5 (0.96) |
26.5 (1.04) |
27.4 (1.08) |
23.2 (0.91) |
10.0 (0.39) |
6.8 (0.27) |
161.2 (6.35) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.7 (0.03) |
7.8 (0.31) |
23.5 (0.93) |
21.9 (0.86) |
14.7 (0.58) |
0.8 (0.03) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
69.4 (2.73) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 8.2 (3.2) |
10.6 (4.2) |
6.6 (2.6) |
8.9 (3.5) |
10.2 (4.0) |
2.1 (0.8) |
0.9 (0.4) |
3.7 (1.5) |
12.9 (5.1) |
27.6 (10.9) |
15.1 (5.9) |
9.3 (3.7) |
116.0 (45.7) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 6.3 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 9.0 | 10.9 | 12.1 | 15.0 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 100.2 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 10.1 | 11.1 | 7.5 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 34.6 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 8.2 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 16.9 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 93.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 78.6 | 79.4 | 77.6 | 81.2 | 86.1 | 82.6 | 79.4 | 83.4 | 85.7 | 85.0 | 81.4 | 80.5 | 81.7 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change CanadaCanadian Climate Normals 1981–2010[8] | |||||||||||||
Flora and fauna
[edit]There is sparse vegetation, except in low-lying wet areas.[10]
Beluga whale,bowhead whale,bearded seal,ringed seal,as well ascaribou,grizzly bear,andpolar bear,frequent the area.[5][10]
There are nationally significant populations ofcommon eider,glaucous gull,king eider,long-tailed duck,andyellow-billed loonon the cape. It is also one of only two sites in the western Arctic whereblack guillemotare thought to breed.[5]The cape'sthick-billed murrecolony is more isolated than any othermurrecolony in the world.[10]
Protection status
[edit]The cape, anImportant Bird Area(NT041), is home to the Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary (Site 6) which was established in 1961.[11]It is also an International Biological Programme Site (#4-11) and lies within a Key Marine Habitat Site (Site 19).[5]
References
[edit]- ^Canada Flight Supplement.Effective 0901Z16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
- ^"Cape Parry Dew Line".Geographical Names Data Base.Natural Resources Canada.
- ^ab"Cape Parry NWT PIN-Main".Retrieved21 September2010.
- ^"Cape Parry".Archived fromthe originalon October 11, 2008.Retrieved21 September2010.
- ^abcdLatour, Paul; et al. (Environment and Climate Change Canada) (2008).Key migratory bird terrestrial habitat sites in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut(PDF).Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service. p. 20.ISBN978-0-662-46720-5.OCLC232711462.
- ^"Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary".Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada.Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2019-11-14.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam Marine Protected Area (MPA)".Government of Canada.Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2019-09-18.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^ab"Cape Parry A".Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010.Environment and Climate Change Canada.Climate ID: 2200675. Archived fromthe original(CSV (3069 KB))on 2020-03-13.Retrieved2014-01-09.
- ^
- Past three hoursMETARs,SPECI and currentTAFsforCape ParryfromNav Canadaas available.
- ^abcJohnson, Stephen R.; Ward, John G. (June 1985)."Observations of Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia') and Other Seabirds at Cape Parry, Amundsen Gulf, N.W.T. "(PDF).Arctic.38(2): 112.doi:10.14430/arctic2119.
- ^"Northwest Territories Migratory Bird Sanctuary Facts".Environment and Climate Change Canada.Archived fromthe originalon 11 June 2011.Retrieved21 September2010.
