Wapusk National Park

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Wapusk National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Wapusk National Park
Location of Wapusk National Park in Canada
Location of Wapusk National Park in Canada
Location Manitoba, Canada
Nearest city Churchill
Coordinates 57°14′47″N 92°40′13″W / 57.24639, -92.67028
Area 11,475 km²
Established 1996
Governing body Parks Canada

Wapusk National Park is Canada's 37th national park, established in 1996. The park is located in the Hudson Plains ecozone, 45 km south of Churchill in north-east Manitoba, Canada, on the shores of Hudson Bay. Access to the park is limited due to its remote location and an effort to preserve the park.

Polar Bear at Cape Churchill in Wapusk National Park
Polar Bear at Cape Churchill in Wapusk National Park

Wapusk is the Cree word for "white bear", and as the meaning indicates, the 11,475 km² park provides an excellent opportunity to view polar bears. It protects one of the world's largest known polar bear maternity denning areas. It includes a large part of the Hudson James Lowlands, a sub-arctic region bordering Hudson Bay that is mostly muskeg and wet peatlands. It is one of the wildest and most remote of Canadian landscapes.

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