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Home , Gjoa Haven, King William Island, Northwest Passage, North magnetic pole, Point Barrow

Nunavut Parks & Special Places – Editorial Series January, 2008

Northwest Passage Trail

The small community of Back in the late eighteenth and nineteenth is located on , right on the centuries, a huge effort was put forth by historic and home to the Europeans to locate a passage across northern Northwest Passage Trail which meanders within America to connect the European nations the community, all within easy walking distance with the riches of the . From the east, many from the hotel. A series of signs, a printed guide, ships entered and , and a display of artifacts in the hamlet office mapping the routes and seeking a way through interpret the local culture, exploration of the ice-choked waters and narrow channels to the the Northwest Passage, and the story of the Gjoa Pacific Ocean and straight sailing to the oriental and . It is quite an experience lands and profitable trading. The only other to walk the shores of history here, learning of routes were perilous – rounding at the exploration of the North, and the lives of the the southern tip of South America or the Cape of people who helped the explorers. Good Hope at the southern end of Africa. As a result, many expeditions were launched to seek a passage through the archipelago.

Aussi disponible en français xgw8Ns7uJ5 wk5tg5 Pilaaktut Inuinaqtut ᑲᔾᔮᓇᖅᑐᖅ k a t j a q n a a q listen to the land aliannaktuk en osmose avec la terre

Through the efforts of the , and Wander through history Lady , ’s wife, At the Northwest Passage Trail in the at least 29 expeditions were launched to community of Gjoa Haven, visitors can, seek Franklin and his men, or evidence of through illustrations and text on interpretive their fate. These endeavours resulted in the signs, “journey” on a historical route to learn ᑲᔾᔮᓇᖅᑐᖅ k a t j a q n a a q mapping of much of the eastern portion about the land that was home to Amundsen listen to the land and some of the western portion of the and his six crewmen from 1903 until 1906, aliannaktuk archipelago, and go down in history as one and about the people who still are very en osmose avec la terre of the greatest mysteries and stories of much at home in this land. Signs along the all time. trail describe the observations taken by Amundsen and his crew to collect data that But, the first ship through the Northwest ᑲᔾᔮᓇᖅᑐᖅ k a t j a q n a a q allowed them to locate the exact position of Passage was not a British ship at all; it listen to the land the at that time. Other was the tiny single-masted Norwegian The British explorer John aliannaktukFranklin led three signage overlooks the former moorage en osmose avec laherring terre boat, the Gjoa, captained by Roald expeditions into the arctic. On the first two, of the Gjoa in the harbour. Stand on the Amundsen. Amundsen and his crew he and his men mapped the arctic coast from hill above the little bay and imagine the were experienced; he took advantage of , to Point Turnagain hardships of the six men of this expedition everything he was able to learn from Inuit on the Kent Peninsula. On the third who spent two years here, learning from along the way, and he was lucky. As the expedition, in 1845, Franklin’s two ships, the local people, a bit more than a hundred winter of 1903 closed in, they discovered the and the , entered through years ago. Other stops are at a gravesite, and Erebus Terror a protected small bay, which Amundsen Lancaster Sound. They wintered at Beechey near the site of the old Hudson Bay trading labeled, “The best little harbour in the Island, leaving there in the summer of 1846, post. A visit to the Northwest Passage world”, and called it Gjoa Haven. They and vanished – and with only a couple of Information Centre in the hamlet building spent the winters of 1904 and 1905 locked exceptions, their boats and their bodies have allows the visitor to enjoy displays about into this harbour by unrelenting ice. not been found since. Had he completed the various discoveries of the remains of the During this time, Amundsen located the this expedition, he would have mapped the Franklin expedition, theories as to the fate North Magnetic Pole, and recorded huge entire Northwest Passage. But, neither he of Franklin’s ships, and some of the text of amounts of data about the arctic climate nor his entire crew completed the trip. They Amundsen’s journal. Also on display are and magnetic fields. In August of 1905, they were lost in the Arctic, along the shores of some artifacts from the expedition and from made their way west through shallow and King William Island. old campsites around the area. narrow channels and dangerous ice to where the passage widened into the Queen Travelling to the Park Gulf. Here, they met an American ship Dog team or snowmobile tours are out of San Francisco, and learned they had frequently available from the community of indeed conquered the Northwest Passage. Gjoa Haven, especially in spring, when the His successful of the Northwest days are long and the temperatures mild. It’s Passage occurred because of the cumulative an unforgettable experience to discover this knowledge of various expeditions and land from a dog team, traveling as Inuit used because he was the first to adopt a major to travel and learning about the powerful part of the hunting, fishing and tool-making and adaptable Inuit dog that accompanied techniques of the Netsilik people of King the Inuit across the Bering Land Bridge so William Island. long ago. Travelling by snowmobile allows you to go further, faster, and explore more wolves or even a may be spotted. Nunavut Parks country, perhaps some of the very areas In late springtime or in summer, you may & Special Places Y • where members of the Franklin expedition see snowy owls, snow geese, white-fronted 867.975.7700 867.975.7747 starved to death almost 160 years ago. From geese, swans, peregrine falcons or [email protected] May to August, you can experience the gyrfalcons, and king or common eider ducks. www.nunavutparks.com midnight sun – Gjoa Haven is above the For more information on the Northwest Hamlet of Gjoa Haven – and its unending daylight (Visitors’ Centre) Passage Trail, check the Nunavut Parks in summer. Travel out from the community Y 867.360.6199 website at www.nunavutparks.com, or call onto the trackless tundra by all-terrain Y 867.360.7141 (Hamlet) Nunavut Tourism at 1-866-NUNAVUT vehicle, to see ancient campsites and to request the Nunavut Travel Planner, hunting areas. Nunavut Tourism which lists all licensed tourism operators, Y 866.NUN.AVUT • 867.979.1261 On the land, you may see caribou, , accommodations and services. (1.866.686.2888) or arctic foxes or hares. Occasionally, arctic [email protected] www.nunavuttourism.com

Arctic Coast Visitors’ Centre Y 867.983.2224 [email protected]

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Safe and Sustainable Travel in Nunavut Nunavut’s Territorial Parks offer some of the most breathtaking scenery and magnificent wildlife imaginable, but there are risks when traveling in a remote area. You must be self-reliant and responsible for your own safety. The extreme environment can change quickly, challenge your survival skills and face you with an emergency. Also remember, when you travel in Nunavut you are in polar bear country. Polar bears are strong, fast and agile on ice, land, and in water. For more information on Safe and Sustainable Travel and Polar Bear Safety in Nunavut please visit our website at www.nunavutparks.com.

ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ Nunavut Parks Nunavummi Parcs et endroits ᐊᕕᑦᑐᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᒥᕐᖑᐃᓯᕐᕕᖏᑦ & Special Places Unnagiurhiqviit spéciaux Nunavut ᐊᓯᖏᓪᓗ ᓄᓇᑦᑎᐊᕙᐅᔪᑦ Department of Environment & Inniiturliit Ministère de l’Environnement ᐊᕙᑎᓕᕆᔨᒃᑯᑦ Government of Nunavut Havakviat Avatiligiyikkut Gouvernement du Nunavut Y 867.975.7700 ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᒐᕙᒪᖓᑦ P.O. Box 1000, Station 1340 Nunavut Kavamatkut Case Postale 1000, Succursale 1340 • 867.975.7747 ᑎᑎᖅᑲᖃᐅᑖ 1000 , Nunavut X0A 0H0 Qiuqutaa 1000, Nayugaa 1340 Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0 [email protected] ᑎᑎᖅᑲᖃᕕᖓ 1340 Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0 nunavutparks.com ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ X0A 0H0