Coral Harbour

Coral Harbour ᓴᓪᓕᖅ/ᓴᓪᓖᑦ Salliq/Salliit
Hamlet
Coral Harbour
Coral Harbour
Coordinates: 64°08′13″N 083°09′51″W / 64.13694°N 83.16417°W / 64.13694; -83.16417Coordinates: 64°08′13″N 083°09′51″W / 64.13694°N 83.16417°W / 64.13694; -83.16417
Country	Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Kivalliq Region
Electoral district	Aivilik
Government[1][2]
• Mayor	Willie Nakoolak[3]
• MLA	Steve Mapsalak
Area[4]
• Land	137.91 km2 (53.25 sq mi)
Elevation[5]	64 m (210 ft)
Population (2011)[4]
• Total	834
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
Canadian Postal code	X0C 0C0
Area code(s)	867
Website	www.coralharbour.ca

Coral Harbour (Inuktitut: Salliq/Salliit, Syllabics: ᓴᓪᓕᖅ/ᓴᓪᓖᑦ),^[6][7][8][9] is a small Inuit community that is located on Southampton Island, Kivalliq Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Its name is derived from the fossilized coral that can be found around the waters of the community which is situated at the head of South Bay. The name of the settlement in Inuktitut is Salliq, sometimes used to refer to all of Southampton Island.^[10] The plural Salliit, means large flat island(s) in front of the mainland.^[6][11]

History

The Sadlermiut ("inhabitants of Salliq") whose name is derived from Salliq^[12] previously occupied the area. The Sadlermiut are thought to be the last vestige of the Tuniit. The Tuniit, a pre-Inuit culture, officially went ethnically and culturally extinct in 1902-03^[13] when a Western illness killed all of the Sallirmiut in a matter of weeks. However, others believe that the Sadlermiut were in fact descendants of the Thule, whose geographically isolated culture would have developed idiosyncratically from the mainland Thule culture. A third theory indicates that the Sadlermiut did not necessarily belong to either group, but because of intermarriage, their roots may have in fact been part of both Dorset and Thule cultures.^[13][14]

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was repopulated by Aivilingmiut, whose name was to be later adapted for the Aivilik electoral district, from the Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet areas, influenced to do so by whaler Capt. George Comer and others. Baffin Islanders arrived 25 years later. John Ell, who as a young child travelled with his mother Shoofly on Comer's schooners, eventually became the most famous of Southampton Island's re-settled population.^[15]

Demographics

At the 2011 census the population was 834,^[4] an increase of 8.5% from the 2006 census. Coral Harbour is the only Nunavut community that does not observe daylight saving time, remaining on Eastern Standard Time year-round.

Transportation

The only way to reach this community is by plane at Coral Harbour Airport or by water (such as the resupply barges that come from Churchill, Manitoba, every summer) and the main transportation on the island itself (nearly the same size as Switzerland) is by snowmobile and dog sleigh in the winter and all-terrain vehicle in the summer. Despite the harsh climate there is plentiful wildlife around the island. Among some of the species found there are walruses, polar bears, barren-ground caribou, ringed seals, gyrfalcons, and (rarely) peregrine falcons.

Notable residents

The Hamlet Office in Coral Harbour

• James Arvaluk, Nunavut's first Minister of Education and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Tunnuniq,^[16] representing Pond Inlet. Arvaluk had previously been elected in Nanulik representing the hamlets of Chesterfield Inlet and Coral Harbour.^[17] Prior to 1 April 1999 division of the Northwest Territories he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for the Aivilik (now split between Rankin Inlet North, Akulliq and Nanulik^[17]) electoral district.
• Tagak Curley, founder and first president Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuit Tapirisat of Canada). Curley is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Rankin Inlet North. Prior to division he represented Keewatin South and Aivilik and also stood as the Liberal candidate in the 1979 election for the Nunatsiaq (now Nunavut) riding.
• Patterk Netser, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Nanulik.
• Pudlo Pudlat, notable artist who was born on Baffin Island but lived in the Coral Harbour area until the age of six.
• Manitok Thompson, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove, and prior to division, of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for Aivilik. She was Nunavut's first female cabinet minister.

Climate

Throughout December 2010 and early January 2011, Nunavut, northern Quebec and western Greenland set many high temperature records. In Coral Harbour, a high of 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) in mid-December broke the old record of 1.7 °C (35.1 °F) set in 1963.^[19] The daily minimum temperature on 6 January 2011, was about 30 °C (54 °F) warmer than normal.^[20][21] The unusual warmth was due largely to an unseasonal area of high pressure over Greenland, and very negative values of the Arctic oscillation and North Atlantic oscillation. Mostly in the 21st century, the conditions have combined to produce an Arctic dipole anomaly that brings warm air to the Arctic regions and cold air to the continents.

Geological resources

The limestones around Coral Harbour (and nearby regions of Bad Cache Rapids) predominantly have a "Low Purity" value for industrial use.^[22]

References

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coral Harbour.

• The Atlas of Canada: Coral Harbour
• The Coral Harbour website

Subdivisions of Nunavut Regions Nunavut (electoral district) Kitikmeot Unorganized Kivalliq Qikiqtaaluk Unorganized Communities Arctic Bay Arviat Baker Lake Bathurst Inlet Cambridge Bay Cape Dorset Chesterfield Inlet Clyde River Coral Harbour Gjoa Haven Grise Fiord Hall Beach Igloolik Iqaluit Apex Kimmirut Kugaaruk Kugluktuk Naujaat Pangnirtung Pond Inlet Qikiqtarjuaq Rankin Inlet Resolute Sanikiluaq Taloyoak Whale Cove Weather stations and Canadian Forces bases Alert CFS Alert Ennadai Eureka Isachsen Nanisivik Naval Facility Mine sites Proposed Baffinland Iron Mine Under construction Boston Camp Doris North Hope Bay Meadowbank Gold Mine Defunct Bent Horn Mine Cullaton Lake/Shear Lake Mine Jericho Diamond Mine Lupin Mine Nanisivik Mine Polaris mine Rankin Inlet Mine DEW line and NWS sites Bernard Harbour Bray Island Brevoort Island Broughton Island Byron Bay Cambridge Bay Cape Dyer Cape Hooper Cape Mcloughlin Cape Mercy Cape Peel West Cape Young Clifton Point Clinton Point Croker River Dewar Lakes Durban Island Edinburgh Island Ekalugad Gjoa Haven Gladman Point Hall Beach Harding River Hat Island Jenny Lind Island Kangok Fjord Keats Point Keith Bay Kivitoo Lady Franklin Point Lailor River Loks Land Longstaff Bluff Mackar Inlet Matheson Point Nudluardjuk Lake Pelly Bay Resolution Island Ross Point Rowley Island Scarpa Lake Shepherd Bay Simpson Lake Sturt Point Former Amadjuak Brooman Point Village Craig Harbour Dundas Harbour Iglunga Killiniq Nanisivik Native Point Nuwata Padlei Port Leopold Tavani Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Amadjuak Apex Arctic Bay Baker Lake Bathurst Inlet Bay Chimo Belcher Islands Blacklead Island Cambridge Bay Cape Dorset Charlton Island Depot Chesterfield Inlet Clyde River Coats Island Dundas Harbour Eskimo Point Fort Hearne Fort Ross Frobisher Bay Gjoa Haven Igloolik Kent Peninsula King William Island Kugaryuak Lake Harbour Mansel Island Nueltin House Padley Pangnirtung Pangnirtung Fox Farm Perry River Ponds Inlet Port Leopold Port Burwell Repulse Bay Southampton Island Tavane Tree River Wager Inlet