The Coppermine River is a river in the
North Slave and
Kitikmeot regions of the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
and
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
. It is long. It rises in
Lac de Gras, a small lake near
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...
, and flows generally north to
Coronation Gulf, an arm of the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...
. The river freezes in winter but may still flow under the ice.
The community of
Kugluktuk
Kugluktuk (, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; ), formerly known as Coppermine until 1 January 1996, is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Islan ...
(formerly Coppermine) is located at the river's mouth.
The river was named for the
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...
ores which are located along the river, by
Samuel Hearne in 1771. Hearne found only one lump of copper and commercial mining was not considered viable.
Bloody Falls, part of the
Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park, is located from Kugluktuk, and was home to the
Kogluktogmiut a sub-group of the
Copper Inuit. It is the site of the
Bloody Falls Massacre, when
Matonabbee, Samuel Hearne's guide, and his fellow
Chipewyan
The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene Indigenous Canadian people of the Athabaskan language family, whose ancestors are identified ...
warriors ambushed and massacred the local
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...
.
Gallery
See also
*
List of longest rivers of Canada
Among the longest rivers of Canada are 47 streams of at least . In the case of some rivers such as the Columbia, the length listed in the table below is solely that of the main stem. In the case of others such as the Mackenzie, it is the combi ...
References
Further reading
* Dredge, L. A. Where the river meets the sea geology and landforms of the lower Coppermine River Valley and Kugluktuk, Nunavut.
ttawa Geological Survey of Canada, 2001.
* Steele, Peter. The Man Who Mapped The Arctic: The Intrepid Life of George Back, Franklin's Lieutenant, 2003.
External links
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Rivers of the Northwest Territories
Rivers of Kitikmeot Region
Volcanism of the Northwest Territories