VALUABLES AND BEAUTIES OF CANADA

(NORTHERN CANADA)

SIMO JELAČA, Ph. D.

NUNAVUT TERRITORY

Nunavut (Inuktituk = Our Country, in the Inuktitut language) covers an area of 2,000,671 km2 and has only 33,200 inhabitants. The capital is Iqaluit, located on Baffin Island in Frobisher Bay.There are 26 communities and several meteorological stations and military bases in Nunavut territory. Nunavut encompasses most of Canada's Arctic islands, including: Elsmir , Baffin, Devon, Prince of Wales, Southampton and Hudson Bay.

Newfoundland and Labrador is a large part of the territory of the icebergs, where special experiences are finding special food and, a place where unique and unforgettable experiences take place.

The Vikings first arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador more than a thousand years ago, but their settlements were not found until 1499. The map from 1511 shows for the first time Newfoundland and Labrador, the North Pole, as well as the Arctic coasts of Asia and Greenland. Newfoundland and Labrador have officially become part of Canada since 1949. In the area of Newfoundland and Labrador, the two largest islands are Baffin and Ellesmere.

Iqaluit, as the capital, with 7,250 inhabitants, of whom 85% are Aboriginal peoples. Their language is Inuktitut, and English and French are also in use, as official Canadian languages.

Regular groceries there are very expensive, because everything is brought by plane and barge from very distant destinations. The first inhabitants of Nunavut were the Inuit, they lived in small hunting and fishing communities. They began trading in fur in 1700, and from 1870 Canadians began to place Inuit in reserves. In many places, due to the abundance of ice in their settlements, it is difficult to determine where the sea ends and where the land begins. In areas of tundra, moss grows predominantly. The northernmost human community lives in Grise Fiord, where daylight lasts for 24 hours over four months. Winters there are very cold, with strong winds, and only in July and August temperatures turn to plus. In Nunavut, the roads are rare and very difficult. Snowmobiles and dog sleds are mostly used in traffic.

The MeadowBank gold mine is the only mine still in operation in Nunavut, and the Jericho diamond mine has been operating since 2006. If you are in the territory of Nunavut, the hosts will offer you their handicrafts (drawings, printed objects, carvings, sculptures and fabrics). The population of Nunavut feeds mainly on fish and game. They traditionally make clothes from the fur of polar bears, arctic foxes and seals. Nunavut officially separated from the Northwestern Territory in 1992.

IQALUIT

Many will ask, "Where is Iqaluit on the map of Canada?" Look in the upper right corner of the Canadian map and find Baffin Island. Iqaluit is marked as the capital of Nunavut, it is far from any city. The fastest way to Iqaluit is by plane from Ottawa in three hours with the airline "First Air''. Ikaluita can be flown from Ottawa, Montreal, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Rankin Inlet and Kuujjuaq. There live only about 7,250 inhabitants. There are enough of them that almost everyone knows each other and meets almost every day, and at the same time there are few enough that you cannot avoid meeting acquaintances. Iqaluit has a constant influx of seasonal workers and they are easily recognizable by the local population. The Inuit lived in Iqaluit for thousands of years, along with the First Nations and later the Metis Indians. They all together today make up the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. However, in addition to that, different ethnic groups can be found in Iqaluit today, so Iqaluit can be considered a cosmopolitan city. The city is frozen from November to June, every year. Hence it is considered a locked city. Iqaluit has a typical Arctic climate, with winters from October to May. People feel comfortable there even at -150 C. The city is otherwise surrounded by desert.

The population is engaged in traditional Inuit crafts (sewing, sculpting, printing, etc.). They are active in performing their concerts and festivals.

Taxi carriers have the same price for all destinations, since all mutual distances are almost equal. There are several hotels and one museum and they are all very close to each other. There, December 21 is the shortest day of the year, with only 4.19 hours of daylight, and the longest day of the year is June 20, with 20.5 hours of sunshine. Iqaluit has only 20 km of road and it is not asphalted. From the airport to the city center you can walk.

ALERT

Alert, in the Kikiktagruk region, is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world, at latitude 82 ° 30'05 "north, 817 kilometers from the North Pole. During the official census in 2011, the permanent population of Alert was reported as zero but there are constantly present military and scientific personnel who take turns in rotation.Their research station Cape Sheridan is located 10 km east of Alerto.

Nunavut means "our land" in Inuit, in the Inuit language.

Alert has many temporary residents, who host a military intelligence base, radio links of the Canadian military forces, meteorological stations, laboratories for global atmospheric measurements, as well as Alert airport.

Alert is a very deserted place, a real wasteland, with less than 200 full-time employees. The terrain nearby is hilly. The land has been frozen for almost ten months, and only what grows in the polar desert grows from the vegetation. The vegetation here consists of plants whose photosynthesis is fast, during a short summer, and which can survive in a cold, harsh winter. Vegetation is found mainly in moist bare areas or plants are grown in greenhouses. The land around Alert has an ice layer almost all year round that limits the growth and survival of many plants and animals. Alert is a coastal place where the soil mainly consists of shale and rocks. Overall, with all these characteristics, it can definitely be said that the Arctic is the tundra.

In August 2006, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Alert as part of his campaign to promote Canadian sovereignty in the north.

The Olympic Torch passed through Alert on November 9, 2009 on its way to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler.

Alert is located 12 km west of Cape Sheridan, on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island, on the shores of the ice-covered Lincoln Sea. The closest to this place is the capital Nunavut Iqaluit, which is 2,092 km away.

Other places on Ellesmere Island are research bases on the Eureka and Inuit communities of Grise Fiord, 800 km southwest.

Polar climate Alerta with a snow cover that lasts for 10 months a year, and sometimes all year round in protected areas, is difficult for residents who come here to work temporarily. The warmest month is July, and only July and August are with an average temperature above zero, and those are also the months when over 90% of precipitation lasts. Alert is also a very dry place, with an average of only 158.3 mm of precipitation per year. September is usually the month with the most snowfall. February is the coldest month of the year. Alert is the second coldest place in Nunavut.

The weather station and military position on the north coast of the island of Elsmere, is the northernmost community in North America. Turbot shrimp and Arctic cher are fish that are exported to the world from these parts. There are more snowmobiles (snowmobiles) in Nunavut than cars. Snowmobiles are the main means of transportation.

Deliveries of large items to communities during a short flight are exclusively by ship (building materials, durable food and vehicles).

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) provides police services to Nunavut, in all 26 communities. Nunavut is governed by a legislative assembly of 19 elected members. Members elect a government leader, a house president and eight ministers by consensus. It has 10 departments with offices in nine different communities.

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