Inuvik

Inuvik
Inuuvik
—  Town  —
Overlooking Inuvik with the fall colours in the foreground
Inuvik is located in Canada
Inuvik
Coordinates:
Country  Canada
Territory  Northwest Territories
Region Inuvik Region
Constituency Inuvik Boot Lake
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Census division Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories
Settled 1954
Incorporated 1 April 1967 (village)
  1 January 1970 (town)
Government[1]
 - Mayor Denny Rodgers
 - SAO Grant Hood
 - MLA Robert C. McLeod (Boot Lake)
 - MLA Floyd Roland (Twin Lakes)
Area
 - Land 49.76 km2 (19.2 sq mi)
Elevation 15 m (49 ft)
Highest elevation 68 m (223 ft)
Lowest elevation 10 m (33 ft)
Population (2006)[2]
 - Total 3,484
 - Density 70/km2 (181.3/sq mi)
Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC−7)
 - Summer (DST) MDT (UTC−6)
Canadian Postal code X0E 0T0
Area code(s) 867
Telephone exchange 678/777
Prices
- Living cost 127.5A
- Food price index 113.4B
Highways Dempster Highway
Waterways Mackenzie River
Website www.inuvik.ca
Sources:
Community Governance Data List[3]
2006 Canada Census,[2]
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,[4]
Hay River profile at the Legislative Assembly[5]
Canada Flight Supplement[6]
^A 2005 figure based on Edmonton = 100[7]
^B 2004 figure based on Yellowknife = 100[7]

Inuvik, (place of man), is a town in the Northwest Territories of Canada and is the administrative centre for the Inuvik Region.

The population as of the 2006 Census was 3,484,[2] but the two previous census counts show wide fluctuations due to economic conditions: 2,894 in 2001 and 3,296 in 1996.[8][9] In 2009 the Government of the Northwest Territories reported that the population was 3,586 with an average yearly growth rate of 0.3 from 1996.[7]

Contents

History

Prime Minister John Diefenbaker at the official opening of the town of Inuvik.

Inuvik was conceived in 1953 as a replacement administrative centre for the hamlet of Aklavik on the west of the Mackenzie Delta, as the latter was prone to flooding and had no room for expansion. Initially called "New Aklavik", it was renamed to Inuvik.

Inuvik achieved village status in 1967 and became a full town in 1970 with an elected mayor and council. In 1979, with the completion of the Dempster Highway, Inuvik became connected to Canada's highway system, and simultaneously the most northerly town to which one could drive in the summer months — although an ice road through the Mackenzie River delta connects the town to Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik, on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, in the winter.

Between 1971 and 1990, the town's economy was supported by the local Canadian Forces Station (originally a Naval Radio Station, later a communications research/signals intercept facility[10]) and by petrochemical companies exploring the Mackenzie Valley and the Beaufort Sea for petroleum. This all collapsed in 1990 for a variety of reasons, including disappearing government subsidies, local resistance to petroleum exploration, and low international oil prices.

On 10 February 2010, the Google Street View imaging service uploaded images of most Inuvik streets. It is currently the northernmost Canadian community so imaged.

Demographics

Population
3,484 in 2006
Breakdown
Inuvialuit (predominately Uummarmiut), 38.9%; First Nations, 18.4%; Métis, 4.7%; other Aboriginal, 1.2%; non-native, 36.7%[11]

The main languages spoken in Inuvik are, Inuvialuktun, Gwich’in and English.[5]

There are also about 100 Muslims, most of whom came there for economic opportunities. A small mosque (dubbed "Little mosque on the tundra") was established in 2010.[12]

Geography

Inuvik is located on the East Channel of the Mackenzie Delta, approximately 100 km (62 mi) from the Arctic Ocean and approximately 200 km (120 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.

Due to its northern location, Inuvik experiences an average of 56 days of continuous sunlight every summer and 30 days of polar night every winter.

Access is via the Dempster Highway for the majority of the year. The highway relies on ferries and ice bridges to get across the rivers. It is thus closed during the time of freeze-up (roughly late-October to mid-December), for ice to form and allow ice bridges, and thaw (roughly mid-May to mid-June) to allow the ferry to run. At these times, there is air access only.

When the Mackenzie River is ice-free, Northern Transportation Company Limited provides a commercial barge service from Hay River, on Great Slave Lake to the regional terminal in Inuvik. The annual sealift moves supplies as far east as Taloyoak, Nunavut and west to Barrow, Alaska.[13]

A distinct feature of Inuvik is the use of "utilidors" – above-ground utility conduits carrying water and sewer – which are covered by corrugated steel. They run throughout town connecting most buildings, and as a result there are many small bridges and underpasses. The utilidors are necessary because of the permafrost underlying the town.

Another feature is an Inukshuk placed outside the Mackenzie Hotel, which was rebuilt in 2006.

A great majority of roads are paved, and there are both concrete and metal-grill sidewalks alongside the roads.

Climate

Climate data for Inuvik
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)		 5.2
(41.4)		 6.1
(43)		 13.8
(56.8)		 25
(77)		 32.8
(91)		 32.8
(91)		 32.5
(90.5)		 26.2
(79.2)		 15
(59)		 10.6
(51.1)		 5
(41)		 32.9
(91.2)
Average high °C (°F) -23.2
(-9.8)		 -22
(-8)		 -17.5
(0.5)		 -7.1
(19.2)		 5
(41)		 17.3
(63.1)		 19.8
(67.6)		 16.1
(61)		 7.8
(46)		 -4.8
(23.4)		 -16.8
(1.8)		 -21.3
(-6.3)		 -3.9
(25)
Daily mean °C (°F) −27.6
(-17.7)		 −26.9
(-16.4)		 -23.2
(-9.8)		 -12.8
(9)		 0.2
(32.4)		 11.3
(52.3)		 14.2
(57.6)		 11
(52)		 3.7
(38.7)		 -8.2
(17.2)		 -21
(-6)		 −25.7
(-14.3)		 -8.8
(16.2)
Average low °C (°F) -31.9
(-25.4)		 -31.7
(-25.1)		 -28.8
(-19.8)		 -18.4
(-1.1)		 -4.7
(23.5)		 5.3
(41.5)		 8.5
(47.3)		 5.9
(42.6)		 -0.4
(31.3)		 -11.6
(11.1)		 -25.1
(-13.2)		 -30.1
(-22.2)		 -13.6
(7.5)
Record low °C (°F) -54.4
(-65.9)		 -56.7
(-70.1)		 -50.6
(-59.1)		 -46.1
(-51)		 -27.8
(-18)		 -6.1
(21)		 -3.3
(26.1)		 -6.1
(21)		 -20.1
(-4.2)		 -35
(-31)		 -46.1
(-51)		 -50
(-58)		 -56.7
(-70.1)
Precipitation mm (inches) 13.8
(0.543)		 11.6
(0.457)		 11
(0.43)		 10.5
(0.413)		 17
(0.67)		 22.1
(0.87)		 33.2
(1.307)		 39.9
(1.571)		 28
(1.1)		 28
(1.1)		 17.8
(0.701)		 15.7
(0.618)		 248.4
(9.78)
Source: Environment Canada[14]

Tourism

Our Lady of Victory church

Famous attractions

Inuvik's Our Lady Of Victory Church, often called Igloo Church, is a famous landmark in the region. It is the most-photographed building in the town.

The Canadian Arctic's northernmost mosque will become operational in Autumn 2010 after being built in Winnipeg and moved 4,000 km (2,500 mi) by truck and barge.[15] Although the CBC says that "Once the mosque arrives in Inuvik, it will become the world's northernmost mosque." there are mosques in Norilsk, Russia; and Tromsø, Norway, both of which are further north than Inuvik.[16][17][18]

Annual events of note

The Great Northern Arts Festival[19] has been held annually for 10 days in the middle of July since 1989. The festival hosts artists from across the Circumpolar World with additional artists occasionally coming from as far away as the Orkney Islands, the Yucatán, and Australia. Local visitors and world travellers alike attend this annual event each year, many returning as repeat guests and volunteers.

Inuvik celebrates Muskrat Jamboree each year in late March or early April. Most events are held on the Mackenzie River. Several community groups operate concessions in tents, preparing hot soup, bannock, coffee and tea and other warm refreshments.

Facilities

Inuvik Regional Hospital
The Inuvik community greenhouse converted from an old hockey rink.[20]

A new hospital opened in early 2003, providing service to an area extending from Sachs Harbour on Banks Island, to Ulukhaktok on Victoria Island, and from Paulatuk into the Sahtu Region including Norman Wells, Tulit'a, Deline, Fort Good Hope, and Colville Lake.

Another facility, the Inuvik Family Centre, was recently completed, at a cost of $8.5 million. It contains a very modern pool, gym, squash court, hot tub, sauna, steam room, space for community meetings and a twisting, 2-story waterslide.

Communications

The town is served by the Inuvik Drum, community newspaper published weekly by Northern News Services.

The CBC has a local CBC Radio One outlet, CHAK AM 860, which relays CFYK Yellowknife, as well as provide local programs. CKLB-FM Yellowknife, a station catering to the territory's First Nation communities, has a local repeater in Inuvik, VF2082, at 101.9 FM. CKRW-FM, an adult contemporary station from Whitehorse, Yukon, has a license for a local repeater, CKRW-FM-2, at 98.7 FM -- it is unknown when that repeater will begin broadcasting.

Aerial television is available through CHAK-TV channel 6, the local CBC North television outlet; and CH4221 channel 13, which rebroadcasts APTN.

Planetary nomenclature

In 1988, the International Astronomical Union and Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) officially named a crater on Mars as bearing the name "INUVIK". The Martian crater named for and attributed to the town is located at 78.7 degrees north latitude, and 28.6 degrees west longitude on the Martian surface, and has a total diameter of 20.5 km (12.7 mi).[21]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ Town of Inuvik. "Community Profile". http://www.inuvik.ca/tourism/community.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2006 Canada Census
  3. ↑ Community Governance Data List
  4. ↑ Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre - official names
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Inuvik
  6. ↑ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 23 September 2010 to 0901Z 18 November 2010
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Inuvik - Statistical Profile at the GNWT
  8. ↑ 2001 Canada Census
  9. ↑ 1996 Canada Census
  10. ↑ Proc, Jerry (October 2007). "Inuvik". http://jproc.ca/rrp/inuvik.html. Retrieved 2008-04-13. 
  11. ↑ Canada 2006 Census - Aboriginal identity population
  12. ↑ Little mosque on the tundra
  13. ↑ NTCL services
  14. ↑ Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 25 June 2010
  15. ↑ CBC News Article on the World's northernmost mosque
  16. ↑ World's Northern Most Mosque
  17. ↑ Facts About Tromso]
  18. ↑ Arctic Muslims
  19. ↑ Great Northern Arts Festival
  20. ↑ "Inuvik Community Greenhouse". http://www.cityfarmer.org/inuvik.html. 
  21. ↑ USGS Map MC-01 of the Mare Boreum Region of the planet Mars showing INUVIK Crater

External links

Flag of the Northwest Territories Subdivisions of the Northwest Territories
Census divisions
Fort Smith · Inuvik
Dehcho Region
Fort Liard · Fort Providence · Fort Simpson · Jean Marie River · Kakisa · Nahanni Butte · Trout Lake · Wrigley
Inuvik Region
Aklavik · Fort McPherson · Inuvik · Paulatuk · Sachs Harbour · Tsiigehtchic · Tuktoyaktuk · Ulukhaktok
North Slave Region
Behchoko · Dettah · Gamèti · N'Dilo · Wekweeti · Whatì · Yellowknife
Sahtu Region
Colville Lake · Deline · Fort Good Hope · Norman Wells · Tulita
South Slave Region
Enterprise · Fort Resolution · Fort Smith · Hay River Reserve · Hay River · Lutselk'e
Category Category:Northwest Territories  · Portal Portal:Northwest Territories  · WikiProject WikiProject:Canadian Territories