PAP_etat.qxd 9/7/01 8:53 AM Page 3 Status Report Parc des Pingualuit Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec Acknowledgements I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this report in any way. I would especially like to thank the following people: Parc des Pingualuit Working Group Vicky Gordon Willie Adams Michael Barrett Michel Damphousse Charlie Ulaku Community of Kangiqsujuaq Ulaayu Pilurtuut Arngak Charlie Arngak Betsy Etidloe Papikatuk Sakiagak Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec Marthe Laflamme Serge Alain Jean Boisclair Stéphane Cossette Jean Gagnon Gilles Harvey André Lafrenière Louis Lefebvre André Rancourt Jacques Talbot Denis Vandal Raymonde Pomerleau Project Coordinator, Parc des Pingualuit Acknowledgements I Table of contents List of maps, tables, and figures V List of maps V List of tables V List of figures VI Introduction VII Regional Context 1 Northern Québec 1 Demography 1 Territorial access and transportation 5 Local administration 6 Economic activity 8 Tourism development 9 Northern Village of Kangiqsujuaq 10 Population and services 10 Economic activity 10 Access 10 Land regime 15 Study Area 17 Climatic conditions 17 Temperature 18 Frost–free season 18 Precipitation 18 Day length 33 Ice formation and break-up on lakes and rivers 33 Biophysical resources 33 Relief and slopes 33 Geology 34 Origin of the crater 41 Geomorphology 42 The Pleistocence 42 The Holocene 51 Deposits 59 Hydrography 63 Vegetation 68 Fauna 75 Special features 89 Table of contents III Archaeological and historical resources 89 Archaeology 89 History 93 Land regime and use 94 Conclusion 103 Appendix 1 Flora 105 Vascular plants 107 Non-Vascular Plants 109 Lichens 109 Bryophytes 111 Appendix 2 Newly identified regional flora and rare vascular plants 113 Appendix 3 Birds of Parc des Pingualuit area 117 Appendix 4 Mammals of Parc des Pingualuit area 121 Literature cited 125 Endnotes 131 IV Parc des Pingualuit List of maps, tables, and figures List of maps Map 1: Location map: Kangiqsujuaq 11 Map 2: Ungava Plateau natural region (B-39) 17 Map 3: Changes in the limits of the study area 19 Map 4: Relief map 33 Map 5: Geology 37 Map 6: Geomorphology 47 Map 7: Surface deposits 59 Map 8: Drainage pattern 63 Map 9: Areas of floral significance 75 Map 10: Archaeologically and historically significant sites 87 Map 11: Land regime 93 Map 12: Land use 97 List of tables Table 1: Population of Nunavik communities 5 Table 2: Impact craters in Québec 39 Table 3: Geological time scale and main geological events in the region of the Nouveau-Québec Crater 41 Table 4: Surface area of large lakes – Parc des Pingualuit 61 Table 5: Characteristics of the Nouveau-Québec Crater and Pingualuk Lake 66 Table 6: Predominant vegetation by environmental conditions 68 Table 7: Site of rare plant species inventoried in summer 1998 72 List of maps, tables, and figures V List of figures Figure 1: Nunavik 3 Figure 2: Mean annual temperature 21 Figure 3: Length of frost-free season 21 Figure 4: Total mean annual precipitation 23 Figure 5: Annual snow fraction 23 Figure 6: Wind rose 27 Figure 7: Mean annual hourly wind speed 29 Figure 8: Maximum mean hourly wind speed 29 Figure 9: Glacial phases in northern Nunavik 45 Figure 10: Areas flooded by postglacial seas and proglacial lakes 51 Figure 11: Deglaciation of the Nouveau-Québec Crater 55 Figure 12: Movement patterns in the calving ground of the Rivière aux Feuilles caribou herd 81 Figure 13: Annual distribution of the Rivière aux Feuilles and George River caribou herds 83 VI Parc des Pingualuit Introduction At the northern tip of Québec, on the highest part of the Ungava Peninsula, lies a fascinating lake created by a meteorite’s collision with Earth. Almost perfectly circular with virtually the clearest water in the world, the lake sits in a bed of crystalline shield rocks. The impact that created the Nouveau-Québec Crater, called Pingualuit by the Inuit, occurred over a million years ago. Little by little, its walls, floor and flooded depression reveal the secrets of the crater’s origin. No wonder its relatively recent “discovery” has raised so much interest within the scientific community! Like a gemstone, the Nouveau-Québec Crater is set in a rocky plateau sculpted by countless elongated lakes with jagged shorelines. Save for this meteorite impact structure, the relief is subdued and the vegetation so sparse that it is unfairly qualified as inexistent. Wind and cold reign over this rocky universe, which comes to life during a very short summer characterized by near-endless daylight. This report presents the current state of knowledge of the area set aside for the establishment of Parc des Pingualuit, the new provincial park dedicated to preserving the exceptional character of the Nouveau-Québec Crater as well as a representative portion of the vast Ungava Plateau. In addition to describing the biophysical environment and the history of the study area, this report discusses the regional context underlying the development of the park. The Status Report is a companion document to the Provisional Master Plan, which further discusses the dominant features of the study area and proposes limits, a zoning plan and a development scenario for the future park. Introduction VII Regional Context Northern Québec Northern Québec is divided into two distinct regions separated by the 55th parallel: James Bay to the south and Nunavik, formerly known as Kativik, to the north. The vast territory of Nunavik is 500,164 km2 in area and distinguished by its pristine wilderness, countless lakes and large rivers, and the world’s largest caribou herd. The region is bounded, from west to east, by Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, totalling 2,500 km of coastline carved out by fjords, dotted with islands and marked by deep estuaries with a high tidal range. At its easternmost point, Nunavik borders Labrador (Figure 1). Demography In 1996, the population of Nunavik stood at 8,715, representing a density of less than .02 inhabitants per square kilometre. Predominantly Inuit (89%), the population is spread over 14 villages established near the coast. The communities of Kuujjuaq (pop. 1,726), Inukjuaq (pop. 1,184), Puvirnituq (pop. 1,169) and Salluit (pop. 929) account for nearly 60% of the region’s inhabitants (Table 1). Kuujjuaq, the largest service centre in Northern Québec, houses the corporate seat of the Kativik Regional Government (KRG). The population is young, with almost 60% of inhabit- ants under 25 years of age and 40%, under the age of 15. It is also growing rapidly, at a rate of approximately 2.7% per year (Makivik Corporation 2000). The KRG’s 1996 master development plan predicted that the population would continue to grow for another ten years, stressing the impact on public infrastructures and services, especially housing, which is already limited. The attendant need for employment opportunities is another factor that is frequently cited. Regional Context 1 Montage.qxd 9/10/01 7:32 AM Page 1 Document1 9/10/01 8:04 AM Page 1 Table 1 Population of Nunavik communities JUNE JUNE JUNE CHANGE (1) (1) (2) 1986 1991 1996 SINCE 1991 (%) Akulivik 337 375 411 9.6 Aupaluk 110 131 159 21.4 Inukjuak 778 1,044 1,184 13.4 Ivujivik 208 263 274 4.2 Kangiqsualujjuaq 383 529 648 22.5 Kangiqsujuaq 337 404 479 18.6 Kangirsuk 308 351 394 12.3 Kuujjuaq 1,066 1,405 1,726 22.8 Kuujjuarapik (3) 616 605 579 -4.3 Puvirnituq 868 1,091 1,169 7.1 Quaqtaq 185 236 257 8.9 Salluit 663 823 929 12.9 Tasiujaq 135 152 191 25.7 Umiujaq 59 284 315 10.9 Total for Nunavik 6,053 7,693 8,715 13.3 Source: 1: Census of Population (Cat. no. 93-304), Statistics Canada 2: Census of Population (Cat. no. 93-357), Statistics Canada 3: Displacement of population due to the creation of Umiujaq The average number of persons per household is 4.3, with 40% of Nunavik families comprising 5 or more Kuujjuaq (1,500 km) take around 2 hours. From Kuu- persons. The language most often spoken in the jjuaq, weekday flights carry passengers to the differ- home is Inuktitut, although many Inuit can also speak ent villages dotting the coasts of Ungava Bay and either English or French, especially young people, Hudson Strait as far as Salluit. The villages along who are given the choice of French or English as the Hudson Bay are served by flights leaving Montréal language of instruction beginning in Grade 4. Monday through Friday. Both the Ungava and Hudson However, Inuit language continues to be taught Bay lines offer connecting flights to Salluit. throughout primary and secondary school. School enrolment in the regular sector currently stands at The regional airports in Kuujjuaq and Kuujjuarapik over 3,000 students, or nearly 35% of the total have flight systems station (FSS); the others are population. equipped for instrument landing. With no 24-hour weather stations, access to the villages is limited Territorial access and transportation during bad weather. Whether for leisure or business purposes, Northern In addition to these regular flights, small planes and Québec is only accessible by plane. Every village has helicopters can be chartered from private companies its own airport, and daily flights between Montréal and Regional Context 5 established in Kuujjuaq. Cargo airplanes carry land, which dictate their respective use and supplies to the villages once a week. administration. Marine transport is used primarily to supply the Category I lands are those that have been allocated villages with durable goods and fuel. The coastal to the Native peoples for their exclusive use.