Kuujjuarapik, Quebec
| Kuujjuarapik | |
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 Kuujjuarapik
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| Coordinates: 55°16′30″N 77°45′30″W / 55.275°N 77.75833°WCoordinates: 55°16′30″N 77°45′30″W / 55.275°N 77.75833°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Nunavik |
| Established | 1821 (HBC post) |
| Incorporated | 1980 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Inuit territory |
| • Mayor | Rhoda Angatookalook |
| Area[1] | |
| • Land | 8.16 km2 (3.15 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[2] | |
| • Total | 568 |
| • Density | 69.6/km2 (180/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal Code | J0M 1G0 |
| Area code(s) | 819 (929 exchange) |
| Website | www.nvkuujjuaraapik.ca |
Kuujjuarapik (small great river in Inuktitut) is the southernmost Inuit village at the mouth of the Great Whale River (French: Grande Rivière de la Baleine) on the coast of Hudson Bay in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. About 800 people, mostly Cree, live in the adjacent village of Whapmagoostui. The community is only accessible by air (Kuujjuarapik Airport) and, in late summer, by boat. The nearest Inuit village is Umiujaq, about 160 km north-northwest of Kuujjuarapik.
Although the permanent cohabitation of Inuit and Crees at the mouth of the Great Whale River only goes back to the year 1950, the two nations were rubbing shoulders in this area for a very long time; Inuit close to the coast and the Crees more in the interior lands.
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[edit] History
While the Inuit have hunted and fished along the Hudson Bay coast long before the arrival of Europeans, it was not until 1820 when a Hudson's Bay Company trading post was built here,[3] known variously as Great Whale River House, Great Whale River or just Great Whale. On maps of 1851 and 1854, the post is called Whale River House and Whale House.[4] Protestant and catholic missions settled there in the 1880s. In 1895, a weather station was set up by the Federal Government. Medical and police services began to be offered in the first half of the 20th century.[3] Yet it was not settled permanently and only used as a summer encampment.
In the late 1930s, the Inuit gave up their nomadic way of life and settled in the village. In 1940, the American army opened a military air base here, using Inuit and Cree workers. In 1941, the HBC post closed. After the World War II in 1948, the military base was transferred to the Canadian government. And in 1955, it began operating a Mid-Canada Line radar station.[3] Though the radar station was not operational for long and closed in 1965, it established the village permanently.
In 1961, when the Quebec Government decided to give French names to Nordic places, the name Great Whale River was replaced with Grande-Baleine which itself was replaced a year later with Post-de-la-Baleine.[5] When the village was incorporated, it officially adopted its current name, a name the Inuit had already been using for some time to designate this place.[5]
Fearing the impact of planned large-scale hydroelectric works on the Great Whale River, a referendum was held in 1982 in which the Inuit decided to relocate to a new village (Umiujaq) some 160 kilometres (99 mi) to the north. A large portion of the Inuit moved there in 1986, causing the population of Kuujjuarapik to drop significantly.[3][5]
[edit] Climate
| Climate data for Kuujjuarapik | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) |
25.3 (77.5) |
11.1 (52.0) |
21.9 (71.4) |
32 (90) |
33.9 (93.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
33.3 (91.9) |
33.9 (93.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
11.8 (53.2) |
7.2 (45.0) |
33.9 (93.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −18.8 (−1.8) |
−17.6 (0.3) |
−11.3 (11.7) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
5.8 (42.4) |
12.1 (53.8) |
15.5 (59.9) |
15.7 (60.3) |
10.7 (51.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
0 (32) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −23.4 (−10.1) |
−23.2 (−9.8) |
−17.3 (0.9) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
7 (45) |
10.6 (51.1) |
11.4 (52.5) |
7.4 (45.3) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−5 (23) |
−16.2 (2.8) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −27.9 (−18.2) |
−28.6 (−19.5) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
1.8 (35.2) |
5.7 (42.3) |
7 (45) |
4 (39) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−20.1 (−4.2) |
−8.8 (16.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −49.4 (−56.9) |
−48.9 (−56.0) |
−45 (−49) |
−33.9 (−29.0) |
−25 (−13) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−15 (5) |
−28.9 (−20.0) |
−46.1 (−51.0) |
−49.4 (−56.9) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 27.6 (1.087) |
22.2 (0.874) |
20.5 (0.807) |
23.6 (0.929) |
35.1 (1.382) |
60 (2.36) |
79.4 (3.126) |
91.5 (3.602) |
102.7 (4.043) |
80.9 (3.185) |
64.3 (2.531) |
40.8 (1.606) |
648.5 (25.531) |
| Source: Environment Canada[6] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Demographics
Population:[7]
- Population in 2006: 568 (2001 to 2006 population change: 2.3 %)
- Population in 2001: 555
- Population in 1996: 579
- Population in 1991: 605
[edit] References
- ^ Land area: Statistics Canada
- ^ Statistics Canada 2006 Census
- ^ a b c d "Kuujjuarapik". Nunavik Tourism Association. http://www.nunavik-tourism.com/Kuujjuarapik.aspx. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ "Whapmagoostui" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=149276&Latitude=55,28028&Longitude=-77,75444&Zoom=1700. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ a b c "Kuujjuarapik" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=95269&Latitude=55,28333&Longitude=-77,75&Zoom=1700. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 24 July 2009
- ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
