Cumberland Sound (French: Baie Cumberland; Inuit: Kangiqtualuk)[2] is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is a western arm of the Labrador Sea located between Baffin Island's Hall Peninsula and the Cumberland Peninsula. It is approximately 250 km (160 mi) long and 80 km (50 mi) wide. Other names are Cumberland Straits, Hogarth Sound, and Northumberland Inlet.[3]
| Cumberland Sound | |
|---|---|
 Cumberland Sound, a part of the Labrador Sea, between Cumberland Peninsula and Hall Peninsula. | |
  Cumberland Sound  Cumberland Sound | |
| Location | Labrador Sea |
| Coordinates | 65°20′N 066°01′W / 65.333°N 66.017°W[1] |
| Ocean/sea sources | Atlantic Ocean |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Settlements | Pangnirtung |
Small islands litter the stretch of water which was formed from glacial activity and meltwater produced from the receding glacier.[4]
The only settlement located on the shore of the sound on the Cumberland Peninsula is Pangnirtung.
John Davis, the English explorer, went part way up the sound in 1585. After that it was unvisited by Europeans until 1839, when the British whaler and explorer William Penny persuaded Eenoolooapik (brother of interpreter and guide Taqulittuq) to show him the inland sea. The Inuk had described the sound, known to him as Tenudiackbeek, as full of whales, and soon the British set up a whaling station there.[5]
Fauna
editThe sound is the home of two whale species who are known to reside year-round here, The Cumberland Sound beluga and the Bowhead whale.[6] Other notable species include marine mammals such as the ringed, bearded, harp, harbour and hooded seals, as well as the polar bear. Significant fish populations include Arctic char and Greenland halibut. Birds such as gulls, ducks, and geese migrate and spend the springs and summers in Cumberland Sound, while birds such as ptarmigan and ravens remain year-round.
References
edit- ^ "Cumberland Sound". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. 16 June 2024.
- ^ Shelagh Grant. Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923. McGill-Queen's Press, 2005
- ^ Kumlien, Ludwig (1879). Contributions to the natural history of Arctic America: made in connection with the Howgate Polar Expedition, 1877-78 (Digitized October 3, 2008 ed.). Govt. Printing Office. p. 11.
- ^ Tallman, Ross F.; Marcoux, Marianne (2021-04-06). "Review of the ecosystem approach in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, Canada1". Arctic Science. 7 (2): 376–393. doi:10.1139/as-2019-0035. S2CID 233595474.
- ^ "Eenoolooapik | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ Unit, Marine Mammal Research. "Bowhead whales feed year-round in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut". Marine Mammal Research Unit. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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