Arctic Cordillera
Arctic Cordillera | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 242,190 km2 (93,510 sq mi) |
Country | Canada |
Provinces | |
Coordinates | 81°56′N 74°54′W / 81.93°N 74.90°W |
Climate type | Polar and Ice cap |
The Arctic Cordillera is a terrestrial
The geographic range is composed along the provinces of Labrador: including Eastern Baffin, Devon Island, Ellesmere, Bylot Island, the Torngat Mountains, and some parts of the Northeastern fringe. The landscape is dominated by massive polar icefields, alpine glaciers, inland fjords, and large bordering bodies of water, distinctive of many similar arctic regions in the world. Although the terrain is infamous for its unforgiving conditions, humans maintained an established population of 1000 people – 80% of which were Inuit. In addition, the landscape is 75% covered by ice or exposed bedrock, with a continuous permafrost that persists throughout the year, making plant and animal life somewhat scarce. The temperature of the Arctic Cordillera ranges from 6 °C in summer, down to −16 °C in winter. Vegetation is largely absent in this area due to permanent ice and snow.[2]
Overview
The range is mostly located in Nunavut but extends southeast into the northernmost tip of Labrador and northeastern Quebec. The system is divided into a series of ranges, with mountains reaching heights of more than 2,000 m (6,562 ft). The highest is
The landscape is dominated by massive polar ice fields, alpine glaciers, inland fjords, and large bordering bodies of water, distinctive of many similar arctic regions in the world. Although the terrain is infamous for its unforgiving conditions, humans maintained an established population of 1000 people – 80% of whom were Inuit. In addition, the landscape is 75% covered by ice or exposed bedrock, with a continuous permafrost that persists throughout the year, making plant and animal life somewhat scarce. The temperature of the Arctic Cordillera ranges from 6 °C in summer down to −16 °C in winter. Vegetation is largely absent in this area due to permanent ice and snow.[5]
The Arctic Cordillera is a narrow
Geography
Regions
The Arctic Cordillera is geographically diverse. Much of Ellesmere Island is covered by the Arctic Cordillera, making it the most mountainous in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.[7] It is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada. It encompasses an area of 196,235 km2 (75,767 sq mi), making it the world's tenth largest island and Canada's third largest island. The first inhabitants of Ellesmere Island were small bands of Inuit drawn to the area for Peary caribou, muskox, and marine mammal hunting about 1000–2000 BC.[8]
Axel Heiberg Island is one of the several members of the
Baffin Island is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest in the world, with an area of 507,451 km2 (195,928 sq mi).
Much of Bylot Island is covered by the Arctic Cordillera. At 11,067 km2 (4,273 sq mi) it is ranked 71st largest island in the world and Canada's 17th largest. While there are no permanent settlements on Bylot, Inuit from Pond Inlet regularly travel to it.
Protected areas
More than one-fifth of Ellesmere Island is protected as Quttinirpaaq National Park (formerly Ellesmere Island National Park), which includes seven fjords and a variety of glaciers, as well as Lake Hazen, the world's largest lake north of the Arctic Circle. Barbeau Peak, the highest mountain in Nunavut at 2616 m (8583 ft), is located in the British Empire Range on Ellesmere Island. The most northern mountain range in the world, the Challenger Mountains, is located in the northwest region of the island. The northern lobe of the island is called Grant Land.
In July 2007, a study noted the disappearance of habitat for waterfowl, invertebrates, and algae on Ellesmere Island. According to John P. Smol of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and Marianne S. V. Douglas of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, warming conditions and evaporation have caused low-water-level changes in the chemistry of ponds and wetlands in the area. The researchers noted, "In the 1980s they often needed to wear hip waders to make their way to the ponds, while by 2006 the same areas were dry enough to burn."[9]
Auyuittuq National Park, located on Baffin Island's Cumberland Peninsula, features the many terrains of Arctic wilderness such as fjords, glaciers, and ice fields. In Inuktitut—the language of Nunavut's Aboriginal people, Inuit—Auyuittuq means "the land that never melts." Although Auyuittuq was established in 1976 as a national park reserve, it was upgraded to a full national park in 2000. Well-known peaks in the park include Mount Asgard and Mount Thor, with a 1250 m (4101 ft), 105° cliff face.
The
. The park was established on January 22, 2005, making it the first national park to be created in Labrador.Glaciers and ice caps
The drier northern section of the Arctic Cordillera is largely covered with
The
Hydrology
Nearly 75% of the land within this ecoregion is exposed bedrock or ice. The majority of the water is locked up in frozen ice and snow, therefore there are very few named rivers or other bodies of water within this region. The annual amount precipitation is about 200 mm, which usually falls down as snow or ice. Huge ice caps dominate the landscape, and they spawn large glaciers that are pushed down steep fjords and into the sea. When the temperature gets above freezing for an extended period time a little amount of runoff is created, which is generally under 200 mm annually.[16]
Geology
The northern portion of the Arctic Cordillera was uplifted during the
The Arctic Cordillera is younger than the
Mountains on southeastern Ellesmere Island are principally made of granitic gneiss, magmatic, undifferentiated intrusive and volcanic rocks. They are typified by being highly eroded, with conspicuous deep vertical fissures and narrow ledges.
The Arctic Cordillera form the eastern edge of the Canadian Shield, which covers much of Canada's landscape.[citation needed] Precambrian rock is the major component of the bedrock.
The Arctic Cordillera is dominated by vast mountain ranges stretching for thousands of miles, virtually untouched by man. These mountains were formed millions of years ago during the mid-
Volcanism
Mountains of volcanic rock range in age from 1.2 billion to 65 million years old.[18] The Late Cretaceous Ellesmere Island Volcanics has been uncertainly associated to both the early volcanic activity of the Iceland hotspot and the Alpha Ridge. Even though these volcanics are about 90 million years old, the volcanoes and cinder can still be seen.[19]
The Late Cretaceous
The
Highest peaks
Mountain/peak | metres | feet | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Barbeau Peak | 2,616 | 8,583 | Highest point on Ellesmere Island |
Mount Whisler | 2,500 | 8,202 | Second highest point on Ellesmere Island |
Commonwealth Mountain | 2,225 | 7,300 | |
Mount Oxford | 2,210 | 7,251 | |
Outlook Peak | 2,210 | 7,251 | Highest point on Axel Heiberg Island |
Mount Odin | 2,147 | 7,044 | Highest point on Baffin Island |
Mount Asgard | 2,015 | 6,611 | |
Qiajivik Mountain | 1,963 | 6,440 | Highest point in northern Baffin Island |
Angilaaq Mountain | 1,951 | 6,401 | Highest point on Bylot Island |
Kisimngiuqtuq Peak | 1,905 | 6,250 | |
Arrowhead Mountain | 1,860 | 6,102 | |
Mount Eugene | 1,850 | 6,070 | |
Ukpik Peak | 1,809 | 5,935 | |
Mount Nukap | 1,780 | 5,840 | |
Bastille Peak | 1,733 | 5,656 | |
Mount Thule | 1,711 | 5,614 | |
Angna Mountain | 1,710 | 5,610 | |
Mount Thor | 1,675 | 5,500 | Features the Earth's greatest purely vertical drop |
Mount Caubvick | 1,642 | 5,387 | Highest point in mainland Canada east of Alberta |
Mountain ranges
Several ranges of the Arctic Cordillera have official names:
Axel Heiberg Island
- Geodetic Hills
- Joy Range
- Princess Margaret Range
- Swiss Range
- White Triplets Peaks
Baffin Island
- Baffin Mountains
- Bruce Mountains
- Everett Mountains
- Hartz Mountains
- Krag Mountains
- Precipitous Mountains
Bathurst Island
Bylot Island
Devon Island
Ellesmere Island
- Blackwelder Mountains
- Blue Mountains
- Boulder Hills
- British Empire Range
- Challenger Mountains
- Conger Range
- Garfield Range
- Inglefield Mountains
- Krieger Mountains
- Osborn Range
- Prince of Wales Mountains
- Sawtooth Range
- Thorndike Peaks
- United States Range
- Victoria and Albert Mountains
Île Vanier
Labrador and Quebec
Flora and fauna
Not much can grow in the severe environment, where killing frost can come at any time during the year and even soil is rare. Three-quarters of the land is bare rock, and even lichen have a hard time of it. Trees are hardly noticeable. Plants that do grow in the region are mostly tiny species that often grow in thick isolating mats to protect themselves from the cold or are covered in thick hairs that help to insulate and to protect them from the harsh wind.
Some of the plant species found are Arctic
The conditions here are far too severe for
.The furry-legged
Plant communities
The Arctic Cordillera is a very high stress environment for plants to try and grow and regenerate. Vegetation is largely absent due to permanent ice and snow. Due to the extremely cold, dry climate, along with the ice-fields and lack of soil materials, the high and mid-elevations are largely devoid of significant populations of plants. In the warmer valleys at low elevations and along coastal margins, the plant cover is more extensive, consisting of herbaceous and shrub-type communities. Stream-banks and coastlines are the most biologically productive areas here. The plants in this region have a history of being survivors and stress tolerant to high winds, low temperatures, few available macronutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Plants have adaptations such as fluffy seed masses, staying low to the ground, and use of other plant masses for extra insulation.[22]
Keystone species
Due to the harsh environments and extremely low temperatures that encompass the Arctic Cordillera, there is not a large variety of plants and animals that are able to survive and exist as a population. However, some animal species, both herbivores and carnivores, are able to survive the extreme weather and terrain. Among these animals are
The large carnivorous species defines the ecoregion due to its intimate relationship with the ice as well as its extremely intelligent hunting tactics.[24] No other predatory animal defines the Arctic Cordillera as well as the large white polar bear and that is why when people think about arctic animals, they think about the polar bear. As long as the polar bear exists, it will be the keystone species of the Arctic Cordillera. However, this existence relies solely on the degree of ice melt that is encountered in the future.[25]
Endangered species
Polar bear
The polar bear is one of the most notably affected species in the Arctic Cordillera, mainly due to their heavy reliance on arctic ice for hunting and bedding grounds. Habitat loss, caused by global warming, has led to many dangerous behavioural changes including a new behaviour called long swims. These are swims lasting as long as ten days performed by mother bears to attempt to find food for their cubs, which generally lead to the death of the cub.[26] Because of their stature and aggressiveness, direct conservation practices are not very useful to the polar bear. Instead, scientific observation to better understand these animals is the largest form of traditional conservation.[27]
Arctic black spruce
The
Bowhead whale
Another species that is of great importance to this ecoregion is the endangered Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Five total stocks of this species exist in the region within the arctic oceans and adjacent seas: the Spitsbergen stock, Baffin Bay/Davis Strait, stock and Hudson Bay/Foxe Basin Stock, Sea of Okhotsk Stock, and the Bering/Chukchi/Beaufort Stock. Historically, these whales have served as a cultural icon, and an important source of food and fuel to the Inuit. At this point in time,[when?] their populations were estimated between 30,000 and 50,000 individuals.
However, with the expansion of commercial whaling in the 16th and 17th century, this species was exploited to dangerously low numbers. Commercial hunting of bowheads was officially ended in 1921, when moratoria were established to protect the remaining 3,000 individuals left in the wild.[30]
Today, those same moratoria are still in effect, but the Bowhead population has been reinstated to a manageable population of between 7,000 and 10,000 individuals. Nonetheless, these whales have been (and remain) on the IUCN Red List since 1984.[31] One of the most important conservation efforts for this species is "legal" protection by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which came into force in 1935. This convention was further strengthened and ratified by Canada in 1977 to support the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) recommendation for full protection of the bowhead whale.[32] Further conservation efforts have involved more physically demanding solutions, including the recommended funding of specialized technical machines that have the capability to remove debris that commonly kills these whales due to entanglement and accidental indigestion.[31]
Climate
The Arctic Cordillera has one of Canada's most inhospitable climates. The weather is generally very cold and dry with a few weeks of sun and rain in the summer. Snow is the most common form of precipitation in the Cordillera. The region only gets 20−60 centimeters of precipitation annually. The temperature in this ecoregion averages around 4 degrees Celsius during the summer. Winter is very dark and long, when temperatures average at −35 °C (−31 °F), although it is somewhat milder and more humid in its southernmost portions. A
It was not always as cold as it is today. Tree stumps were discovered in 1985 on Axel Heiberg Island dating back 40 million years, indicating this northerly part of the cordillera was warmer and wetter than its present-day climate, with much more biodiversity.[34]
Natural resources and human influence
Only about 2,600 people live in the region, found primarily in the communities of
The Arctic Cordillera is a cold, harsh environment making plant life and animal-life sparse; even soil is rare in this ecoregion. Moss,
See also
- List of mountain ranges
- Geography of Nunavut
- Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Geography of Canada
- Ledoyom (Ice body)
References
- ^ Ice Cap The Canadian Encyclopedia Archived May 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2008-02-10
- ^ "Arctic Cordillera".
- ^ "Barbeau Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
- ^ a b Arctic Cordillera Ecozone Archived June 15, 2004, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2008-02-10
- ^ "Arctic Cordillera". Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ "Ecoregion". Ecological Framework of Canada. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020. It is one of fifteen ecozones identified in Canada—Northern Arctic, Southern Arctic, Taiga Cordillera, Taiga Plains, Taiga Shield, Hudson Plains, Boreal Cordillera, Boreal Plains, Boreal Shield, Prairies, Montane Cordillera, Pacific Maritime, Atlantic Maritime, and Mixedwood Plains.
- ^ "oceandots.com: Ellesmere Island". Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ^ Civilization.ca. "Arctic History". Archived from the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
- ^ "Northern Canada Ponds Drying Up" Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine. Environmental News Network.
- ^ "Arctic Ice Shelf Broke Off Canadian Island" Archived January 30, 2018, at the Wayback Machine New York Times 30 December 2006
- ^ Jeffries, Martin O. Ice Island Calvings and Ice Shelf Changes, Milne Ice Shelf and Ayles Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. Archived September 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Arctic 39 (1) (March 1986)
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- ^ Vincent, W.F., J.A.E. Gibson, M.O. Jeffries. Ice-shelf collapse, climate change, and habitat loss in the Canadian high Arctic Archived September 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Polar Record 37 (201): 133-142 (2001)
- ^ NASA Earth Observatory (January 20, 2004). "Breakup of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ "BBC News - Huge Arctic ice break discovered". December 29, 2006. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ "Hydrology of Canada". January 9, 2007.
- ^ Bernhardt, Torsten. "Canadian Biodiversity: Ecozones: Arctic Cordillera". Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ^ Landforms and Climate of the Arctic Cordillera Ecozone Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-09-26
- ^ Chris's journal entries Archived 2015-02-19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-08-05
- ^ Volcanology and geochemistry of the Bravo Lake Formation, Baffin Island, Nunavut Archived 2009-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2007-11-06
- ^ Central Baffin Island 4-D Project - Projects Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine: Paleoproterozoic mafic magmatism in central Baffin Island. Retrieved on 2007-11-06
- S2CID 9710763.
- ^ Kerr, R. (2002). A warmer arctic means change for all. August 30, 2002. Retrieved from http://sfx.uvm.edu/UVM. March 11, 2013
- ^ Durner, G.M. (2009, November 05). Polar bear sea-ice relationships. Alaska science center.
- ^ Richardson, E. (2009). Polar Bear Life History and Population Dynamics. InfoNorth. Retrieved from http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic62-4-491.pdf
- .
- Environment Canada. N.p., 20 August 2012. Web. 25 February 2013.
- ^ Fellin, D. and J. Dewey (March 1992). Western Spruce Budworm Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 53, U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved on: September 14, 2008.
- ISBN 9058095827. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, 5 December 2012. Web. 24 February 2013.
- ^ .
- .
- ^ "Landforms and Climate of the Arctic Cordillera Ecozone".
- ^ ParkWardens: Arctic Cordillera Ecozone Overview Archived 2008-02-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-11-08
- ^ 2006 Census http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P3C&Page=INDX&LANG=Eng Archived May 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- Natural Environment. J.R. Smallwood Centre for Newfoundland Studies, November 2002. Web.
- ^ Government of Canada. (12/19/2012). Human Activity and the Environment. Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/16-201-x/2007000/10542-eng.htm
- ^ Jeffers, Jennifer. "Climate Change and the Arctic: Adapting to Changes in Fisheries Stocks and Governance Regimes." Ecology Law Quarterly 37.3 (2010): 917-66. ELQ. Web.
Further reading
- Chernoff, M. N., H. R. Hovdebo, and J. Stuart-Smith. Eastern Canadian Cordillera and Arctic Islands An Aerial Reconnaissance. Ottawa: 24th International Geological Congress, 1972.
- Geological Survey of Canada. Cordillera and Pacific Margin Interior Plains and Arctic Canada. Geological Survey of Canada Current Research, 1998-A. 1998.
- Hall, John K. Arctic Ocean Geophysical Studies The Alpha Cordillera and Mendeleyev Ridge. Palisades, N.Y.: Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University, 1970.
- Walker, Edward R. A Synoptic Climatology for Parts of the Western Cordillera. Montreal: McGill University, 1961.