Cumberland Sound (;

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 ...

: ''Kangiqtualuk'') is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region,

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 ...

, Canada. It is a western arm of the

Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea (; ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffi ...

located between Baffin Island's Hall Peninsula and the Cumberland Peninsula. It is approximately long and wide. Other names are ''Cumberland Straits,'' ''Hogarth Sound'', and ''Northumberland Inlet.'' Small islands litter the stretch of water which was formed from glacial activity and meltwater produced from the receding

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

. 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 Captain William Penny (1809–1892) was a Scottish shipmaster, whaler and Arctic explorer. He undertook the first maritime search for the ships of Sir John Franklin. In 1840, Penny established the first whaling station in the Cumberland Sound a ...

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 Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

station there.

Fauna

The sound is the home of two whale species who are known to reside year-round here, The Cumberland Sound beluga and the Bowhead whale. Other notable species include

marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

s such as the ringed, bearded,

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

and hooded seals, as well as the polar bear. Significant fish populations include Arctic char and Greenland halibut. Birds such as gulls,

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, and geese migrate and spend the springs and summers in Cumberland Sound, while birds such as ptarmigan and ravens remain year-round.

References

*Fisheries and Oceans Canada Sounds of Qikiqtaaluk Region Bays of Qikiqtaaluk Region Bodies of water of Baffin Island Labrador Sea {{QikiqtaalukNU-geo-stub