Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'',

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

's northern Canadian

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

, south of Somerset Island. The northern part, Murchison Promontory, is the northernmost point of mainland Canada.

Geography

Bellot Strait (Ikirahaq) separates the peninsula from Somerset Island to the north. Babbage Bay is on the east coast, as is Abernethy Bay, just to the south. The community of Taloyoak lies in the far south and is the peninsula's only significant population centre. Paisley Bay is on the west coast, as is Wrottesley Inlet (between Paisley Bay and Bellot Strait). Prior to the detachment of

in 1999, the Boothia Peninsula and the nearby Melville Peninsula were the only parts of mainland Canada that belonged to the District of Franklin in the then

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. The balance of the District of Franklin was all situated within the Arctic Archipelago.

Geology and paleontology

On the peninsula there are outcrops of Early Ordovician rocks, over which Late Ordovician and

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

rocks are identified ( Middle Ordovician is not exposed). Over 1000

conodont Conodonts, are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (''kōnos''), meaning " cone", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard ...

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s of 37 species in 28 genera were collected from these strata. Genera include '' Teridontus'', '' Cordylodus'', '' Rossodus'', '' Variabiloconus'', '' Semiacontiodus'', '' Drepanoistodus'', '' Parapanderodus'', '' Ulrichodina'', '' Acodus'', '' Colaptoconus'', '' Polyplacognathus'', '' Pteracontiodus'', '' Milaculum'' and '' Phosphannulus''. Conodont zones are distinguished in Lower and Upper Ordovician.

Exploration

John Ross was forced by ice to stop for four years at its easternmost point starting in 1829. He named it after his patron Sir Felix Booth. Ross encountered a large

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

community whom he described as living in "snow cottages" (i.e., igloos) and immortalized in Ross's painting ''North Hendon''. In 1831, his nephew

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...

went overland and reached the

north magnetic pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field, planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic comp ...

which was then on its western side. He also crossed west to King William Island. Henry Larsen's second successful traverse of the Northwest Passage passed through the Bellot Strait. Larsen deemed the strait too shallow for larger vessels and described how his vessel was almost crushed by ice floes when there was a change in the wind's direction. On his return voyage Larsen passed north of Somerset Island.

References

* Christie, Robert Loring. ''Three New Lower Paleozoic Formations of the Boothia Peninsula Region, Canadian Arctic Archipelago''. ttawa Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1973. * Dease, Peter Warren, and William Barr. From Barrow to Boothia The Arctic Journal of Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease, 1836–1839. upert's Land Record Society series, 7 Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002. * Dyke, Arthur S. ''Quaternary Geology of Boothia Peninsula and Northern District of Keewatin, Central Canadian Arctic''. Ottawa, Ont., Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, 1984. * Gunn, A., B. Fournier, and R. Morrison. ''Seasonal Movements and Distribution of Satellite-Collared Caribou Cows on the Boothia and Simpson Peninsula Areas, Northwest Territories, 1991-93''. Yellowknife, NWT: Dept. of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development, Govt. of the Northwest Territories, 2000. * Lawrence, M. J. ''A Survey of Aquatic Resources of the District of Keewatin and Boothia Peninsula''. Ottawa: Environmental-Social Program, Northern Pipelines, 1978. * Markham, Albert Hastings, and Sherard Osborn. ''A Whaling Cruise to Baffin's Bay and the Gulf of Boothia''. And an Account of the Rescue of the Crew of the "Polaris.". London: S. Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1875. * VanStone, James W., James E. Anderson, and C. F. Merbs. ''An Archaeological Collection from Somerset Island and Boothia Peninsula, N.W.T''. Toronto, 1962. * Zabenskie, Susan, and Konrad Gajewski. 2007. "Post-Glacial Climatic Change on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada". ''Quaternary Research''. 68, no. 2: 261. {{Authority control Peninsulas of Kitikmeot Region Former populated places in the Kitikmeot Region

Geography

Geology and paleontology

Exploration

References

Further reading