Nunavut

tundra on Bathurst Island

Nunavut

Nunavut, vast territory of northern Canada that stretches across most of the Canadian Arctic. Created in 1999 out of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut encompasses the traditional lands of the Inuit, the indigenous peoples of Arctic Canada (known as Eskimo in the United States); its name means “Our Land” in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. The capital is Iqaluit, at the head of Frobisher Bay on southern Baffin Island.

The Arctic Ocean bounds Nunavut to the north, Greenland (separated from it by a series of narrow straits, Baffin Bay, and Davis Strait) lies to the east, and Quebec adjoins it to the southeast across Hudson Strait and the northeastern arm of Hudson Bay. Its only land boundaries are with Manitoba to the south and the Northwest Territories to the southwest and west. Nunavut constitutes the greater part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, including its largest island, Baffin Island. In addition, several islands are divided between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories (notably Victoria and Melville islands), and Nunavut’s territory extends to numerous islands in Hudson Bay, such as the Belcher Islands. Area 808,185 square miles (2,093,190 square km). Pop. (2021) 36,858.