The Parry Channel ( Inuktitut : ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᐃᒪᖓ , Tallurutiup Imanga ) is a natural waterway through the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago . Its eastern two-thirds lie in the territory of Nunavut , while its western third (west of 110° West ) lies in the Northwest Territories . It runs east to west, connecting Baffin Bay in the east with the Beaufort Sea in the west. Its eastern end is the only practical entrance to the Northwest Passage . Its western end would be a natural exit from the archipelago were it not filled with ice. The channel separates the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the north from the rest of Nunavut.
17-685: Named parts of the Channel are, from east to west, Lancaster Sound , Barrow Strait , Viscount Melville Sound and the McClure Strait . On the south are Baffin Island , Admiralty Inlet and the Brodeur Peninsula of Baffin Island, Prince Regent Inlet which leads to the large Gulf of Boothia , Somerset Island , Peel Sound which is the main route south, Prince of Wales Island , the ice-choked M'Clintock Channel , Victoria Island ,
34-731: A $ 5 million feasibility study for a new National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in Lancaster Sound. A National Marine Conservation Area designation precluded oil and gas development, and so questions arose when the Nunavut Impact Review Board approved a Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) Geological Survey of Canada proposal to perform seismic testing for oil within Lancaster and Jones Sound in August and September, 2010. The new seismic tests were not part of
51-681: A World War II heavy bomber which had been converted for mapping. Ice cover, both land-fast ice and pack ice , is common for nine months of the year. A shore lead system ensures there are ice-free water areas. Wildlife is rich and varied, with an immense amount of Arctic cod (30,000 tons worth) known to exist there. The Arctic cod is also part of the diet for many of the birds in Lancaster Sound and marine mammals. Many narwhal , beluga , bowhead whale , ringed , bearded and harp seals , walrus , polar bears , thick-billed murres , black-legged kittiwakes , northern fulmars , black guillemots , Arctic terns , ivory gulls and snow geese all occupy
68-699: A major ruling on August 8, 2010, a Nunavut court sided with the Inuit and stopped the planned seismic testing citing the risks to marine animals and cultural heritage. The federal Conservative government announced on December 6, 2010, that it will establish the boundaries of a new marine park in Lancaster Sound. In 2012, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) issued a report on Lancaster Sound for North Baffin communities entitled: "Tallurutiup Tariunga Inulik: Inuit Participation in Determining
85-537: The Future of Lancaster Sound". The report has two stated purposes; to provide Nunavut Land Claims Beneficiaries with an introduction to the proposed Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA), and, to inform Parks Canada , the Government of Nunavut and those interested of Inuit perspectives on marine conservation . This report explains what an NMCA is, the history surrounding interests in Lancaster Sound,
102-492: The Mineral and Energy Resource Assessment (MERA) process necessary in establishing new parks. In June 2010, communities and groups came out against seismic testing in Lancaster and Jones Sound. In late June, planned seismic tests were apparently scaled back. But then in late July NRCAN announced that plans for seismic testing were proceeding despite the unanimous opposition of Inuit communities and supporting organizations. In
119-453: The area. In 1968, exploratory permits were granted for 14 million acres of Canada's Arctic waters, including Lancaster Sound. In 1974, Norlands Petroleum Ltd was given approval-in-principle to drill an exploratory well in the middle of Lancaster Sound. Community opposition led to the creation of an Environmental Assessment Review Panel that recommended in 1978 that Norlands proposal not be allowed until they could explain how exploratory drilling
136-768: The eastern entrance to the Parry Channel and the Northwest Passage . East of the sound lies Baffin Bay ; to the west lies Viscount Melville Sound . Further west a traveller would enter the M'Clure Strait before heading into the Arctic Ocean . The Inuit and their predecessors in the region, the Paleo-Eskimos , have relied for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years on the sound's abundant natural wealth for food, clothing and shelter. Today, residents of
153-544: The end of Lancaster Sound. In 1819 William Edward Parry got through it and went as far west as Melville Island . The sound was thoroughly explored during an extensive aerial mapping program of Northern Canada by the Canadian Government which took from the 1930s until the late 1950s to complete. Coincidentally, the type of aircraft that was used to complete the mapping program was the Avro Lancaster ,
170-456: The importance of where boundaries are suggested, and discussion on the realities of Inuit cooperative management in Nunavut. "This report has been titled, Tallurutiup Tariunga Inulik, which means 'Lancaster Sound has people' and also 'Lancaster Sound has Inuit.' It is from the perspective of a homeland that QIA approaches discussions related to this great region." In June 2016, the park gained
187-685: The interim protection announced in 2017 for the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area, Nunavut in cooperation with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. Shore lead A shore lead (or coastal lead ) is an oceanographic term for a waterway opening between pack ice and shore . While the gap of water may be as narrow as a tide crack if closed by wind or currents, it can be as wide as 1,000 feet (300 m). Its formation can be influenced by tidal action, or subsurface conditions, such as current and ocean floor . Commonly,
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#1732766047280204-758: The largest marine conservation area in Canada. The final negotiation of an Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement is expected to be completed by the spring of 2019. The Tallurutiup Imanga—with its diversity of seabirds, and marine and land mammals that sustained Inuit of the region for millennia, was mentioned in the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 5th Global Biodiversity Outlook 2020 report in its section on Canada. Canada had established marine protected areas and undertook other "effective area-based conservation measures" that collectively covered over 130,000 km (50,000 sq mi). This included
221-479: The narrow Prince of Wales Strait and Banks Island . On the north are Devon Island , Wellington Channel , Cornwallis Island , McDougall Sound , Bathurst Island , Melville Island and Prince Patrick Island . Parry Channel is named after Arctic explorer William Edward Parry , who in 1819 got as far as Melville Island before being blocked by ice at the McClure Strait. The next ship to get this far west
238-456: The potential to expand into an area recommended by QIA when Shell relinquished adjacent oil leases after a coalition of environmental groups argued that the leases had expired. In August 2017, the federal government, the Territory of Nunavut and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association announced an agreement on the final boundary protecting a 109,000 km (42,000 sq mi) area, making it
255-517: The three Nunavut communities of Pond Inlet , Arctic Bay , and Resolute continue this tradition, depending on its waters for their economic and cultural well-being. Lancaster Sound was named in 1616 by explorer William Baffin for Sir James Lancaster , one of the three main financial supporters of his exploratory expeditions. The abortive expedition by the British explorer John Ross in 1818 ended when he saw what he believed were mountains blocking
272-560: Was compatible with current and future uses in Lancaster Sound. This area was not yet represented in the Canadian National Marine Conservation Areas systems, even though an attempt to do so at the request of local Inuit was made in 1987. A preliminary Minerals and Energy Resource Assessment to create a National Marine Park was completed in 1989 but nothing came of this. On December 8, 2009, Canadian Environment Minister, Jim Prentice announced
289-558: Was part of the Edward Belcher expedition in 1850. This Qikiqtaaluk Region , Nunavut location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lancaster Sound Lancaster Sound ( Inuktitut : ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᐃᒪᖓ , romanized : Tallurutiup Imanga ) is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region , Nunavut , Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island , forming
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