Auyuittuq National Park (Inuktitut: ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ, "the land that never melts") is a national park on Baffin Island's Cumberland Peninsula in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, the largest area in Canada. The park was first called Baffin Island National Park when it was created in 1972. Its name was changed to Auyuittuq in 1976 to better show the area's connection to the land and its history. The park has many types of Arctic wilderness, including fjords, glaciers, and ice fields. It was first established as a national park reserve in 1972 and later became a full national park in 2000.

Location and access

Auyuittuq National Park is located on the Cumberland Peninsula of Baffin Island in Nunavut. The park lies within the Arctic Circle. It covers 21,470 square kilometers (8,290 square miles) and includes parts of the Penny Highlands. The park also contains the Penny Ice Cap, which is 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 square miles) in size. The Penny Ice Cap, built on Precambrian granite, forms several glaciers, including the Coronation Glacier. The land shows the area’s geological history, with deep valleys between high peaks, such as Mount Asgard, which has a cliff 800 meters (2,600 feet) high, and Mount Thor, which has a cliff 1,250 meters (4,100 feet) high. Along the coast, there are narrow and deep fjords. In Akshayuk Pass, winds can blow up to 175 kilometers per hour (109 miles per hour).

The nearest towns are Qikiqtarjuaq and Pangnirtung. Visitors who want to enter the park must register at the park office in Pangnirtung or Qikiqtarjuaq and attend an orientation session. There are fees for park visitors.

History

In 1972, the park was first created and named Baffin Island National Park. In 1975, Parks Canada decided to rename the park to better show the area's natural features and the history of the Inuit people who live there. After discussing different ideas, the new name chosen was Auyuittuq National Park. The name Auyuittuq comes from the Inuktitut language and means "the place that does not melt."

Flora and fauna

Auyuittuq Park has very little plant life, but the plants that grow there include flowers like mountain avens, campion, Papaver, and saxifrage, as well as shrubs such as dwarf birch, Arctic willow, and heather. Many of these plants grow in groups to form small, warmer areas called "microclimates," which help them survive the cold Arctic environment.

Because there is very little plant life on land, few animals live there. However, the park is surrounded by sea on three sides, and many marine animals live within the park's area. Animals found in Auyuittuq Park include lemmings (North American brown lemming and northern collared lemming), red foxes, snowy owls, peregrine falcons, ermines, rough-legged hawks, gyrfalcons, beluga whales, snow geese, polar bears, wolves, narwhals, Canada geese, Arctic foxes, Arctic hares, and some barren-ground caribou.

Activities

The most common backpacking route in the park is called Akshayuk Pass. This route goes along the Weasel and Owl rivers, passing through Summit Lake. In 2008, heavy rain and warm weather caused Summit Lake to overflow, flooding the Weasel River and destroying the Windy Lake bridge. Because of this, hikers can only walk along the sides of the Weasel River.

Gallery

• Mount Asgard on Baffin Island, 2001
• Maktak Fiord Delta
• Horseshoe-shaped side ridges of rocks at the edge of the Penny Ice Cap
• Along the Weasel River, a hiking trip to Mount Thor
• Mount Odin
• Rock formations and glaciers, with Turnweather Peak located in the center
• Weasel River Valley, with Schwartzenbach Falls visible in the distance
• Baffin Mountains viewed from above, Cumberland Peninsula
• Summit Lake at Akshayuk Pass
• Auyuittuq National Park Office in Pangnirtung